Abstract #1724

Yamabe E, Nakamura T, Oshio K, Kikuchi Y, Toyama Y, Ikegami H

T2-weighted MR image of denervated muscle shows high signal intensity because of the increase of extracellular fluid (ECF). However, it takes certain amount of time before this change becomes visible. To resolve this problem, we detected the motion of ECF by measuring both T2 and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) using peripheral nerve injury model of rats. While T2 value increased gradually, ADC increased right after injury and decreased 5 days after injury. Four weeks after injury, ADC returned to normal, but T2 stayed at high value. Diffusion MRI can be a useful tool for early diagnosis of peripheral nerve injury.