This work investigates how aging influences skeletal muscle diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) measures in a healthy cohort with a broad age range. Sixty participants, from 23-87 years old, were recruited and tract-based DTI indices were calculated in their thigh quadriceps muscles. Through piecewise regression, we identified trends in DTI indices and Dixon fat measures with respect to age, including a previously undocumented decline in fractional anisotropy (FA) in older age, particularly in men (r=-0.46, p=0.06). Our results also show statistically significant differences in FA between quadriceps muscles (p<0.001) that may reflect differences in composition and patterns of use.
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