We used stimulated echo diffusion weighted imaging (STE-DWI) in a mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (mdx). From the data in mdx or wild type animals we observe that although muscle fibre size is smaller in the mdx mouse, the diffusion data show increased diffusibility – opposite to the hypothesised effect if fibre size is the main determinant of restricted water diffusion. Muscle fibre permeability is significantly greater in the mdx mouse, suggesting that the overall system permeability has a countering effect on diffusion restriction. Additional modelling is required to capture these two opposing effects.
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