Magnetic Resonance BOLD & Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Diagnosis of Histopathological Changes in a Rat Model of Diabetic Nephropathy

Katja Hueper¹, Dagmar Hartung¹, Marcel Gutberlet¹, Faikah Gueler², Holger Sann³, Bettina Husen³, Frank Wacker¹, Dania Reiche³

We investigated whether MR BOLD and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) enables detection of renal pathologies in a rat model of diabetic nephropathy. Twenty-one rats (control; diabetes; diabetes with uninephrectomy, DM UNX) were examined by BOLD and echoplanar DTI (1.5T, b=0, 300 s/mm2, 6 diffusion directions). T2*-values, Fractional Anisotropy (FA) and ADC were compared to laboratory parameters and histology. T2*-values were not different between groups. However, in kidneys of DM UNX rats FA was significantly reduced and inversely correlated with glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis and tubular damage. Thus, MR DTI might be useful to noninvasively identify and monitor renal impairment in diabetes.