Ke Li1, 2,
Richard D. Dortch1, 2, E. Brian Welch1,
2, Susan F. Kroop3, Bruce M. Damon1, 2,
Jane H. Park4
1Institute
of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 2Radiology
and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United
States; 3Rheumatology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN,
United States; 4Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, TN, United States
Polymyositis (PM) is a form of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myositis (IIM), with symptoms of muscle inflammation, fat infiltration/replacement, and atrophy. In this work, several quantitative methods, including Dixon fat/water imaging, T2, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) have been applied for the first time in a PM patient at 3.0 Tesla. It is shown that these quantitative methods may provide an improved understanding of the pathological processes associated with PM at a microscopic level, and can objectively and quantitatively characterize, on an individual basic, the severity of muscle damage.
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