The Effect of Locally Administered Glucocorticoid Budesonide on Ovalbumin Exposed Rats Assessed by HP 3He MRI

Jelena Pesic¹, Frank Risse¹, Simon Young², Jim Britt², Ignacio Rodriguez³, Lars E. Olsson¹

HP ³He ADC imaging was used to assess the effect of a glucocorticoid budesonide on inflammation in ovalbumin challenged rats. Four groups of animals were investigated: controls, vehicle treated, low and high dose budesonide treated. The ADC was significantly smaller in the vehicle group, indicating reduced airspace in the alveoli, possibly due to plasma leakage into the alveoli. Treatment with budesonide decreased inflammation as shown by significantly reduced eosinophil counts and higher ADC values than in the vehicle group.