Elliott Elias1, Joseph Liao1,
Memi Watanabe1, Naoko Saito1, Hernan Jara1,
Osamu Sakai1
1Boston Medical Center, Boston
University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
Purpose:
To analyze MR relaxometric and volumetric changes in lacrimal glands in
sickle cell disease (SCD) as motivated by a recent case report on lacrimal
gland pathology. Materials and Methods: 15 SCD patients (19.8-43.6 yrs) and
23 control subjects (23-64 yrs) were imaged by mixed-TSE sequence at 1.5T.
T1, T2, and secular-T2 relaxation time histograms and volumes were analyzed.
Results: T2 and secular-T2 relaxation times were significantly shortened in
SCD patients, and glandular volumes were increased. No significant
differences were observed in T1.
Conclusion: Disease specific relaxometric and volumetric were observed
in the lacrimal glands of SCD patients.