Lan Lu1, Gregory Lee1, Vikas
Gulani1,2, John Sedor3,4, Katherine Dell, 4,5,
Chris Flask1,2
1Department of Radiology, Case Western
Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States; 2Department of
Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH,
United States; 3Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve
University, Cleveland, OH, United States; 4Rammelkamp Renal
Research Center, MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, United States; 5Department
of Pediatrics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States
Our
understanding of and treatment options for Diabetic Nephropathy (DN) is
limited by a lack of a non-invasive means to detect early-stage DN. In this
study, we used Diffusion Tensor Imaging to quantitatively assess renal
diffusion changes relative to estimated GFR (eGFR) in diabetic subjects. Our
initial results suggest that medullary fractional anisotropy (FA) decreases
with eGFR while Apparent Diffusion Coefficient is less sensitive. Further, FA
differentiates subjects with mild DN (eGFR = 60-89) from healthy subjects
(eGFR > 90), suggesting an opportunity for early detection of DN and
progression as well as therapeutic intervention.