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Abstract #1159

MRI & MRS in the Assessment of Dietary-Induced & Age-Related Changes of the Muscle in an Animal Model for Sarcopenic Obesity

Claudia Fellner1, Christine Hechtl2, Marianne Vorbuchner3, Roland Bttner2, Christian Stroszczynski1, Okka W. Hamer1, Cornelius Bollheimer2

1Institute of Radiology, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; 2Department of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; 3Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany


To assess dietary-induced and age-related changes of the muscle, 7 high fat fed rats (HFR) and 14 control animals (CR) fed with standard diet underwent MRI and MRS at the age of 16 and 21 months. Maximum cross sectional area of the M. quadriceps was smaller in HFR compared with CR and decreased with increasing age. HFR yielded increased lipid content and prolonged T2 relaxation times compared with control animals. Although all effects aggravated with increasing age, dietary-induced differences were most pronounced at the age of 16 month. The results of our pilot study support the hypothesis of sarcopenic obesity.