Linda Heskamp1, Marlies van Nimwegen2, Barbara Janssen1, Baziel van Engelen2, and Arend Heerschap1
1Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, Netherlands, 2Department of Neurology, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, Netherlands
We used quantitative MR to evaluate the extent of fatty infiltration and
edema-like processes in muscles of patients with Myotonic Dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Fat fractions were obtained using a DIXON method and the T2 of muscle
water (T2water) was calculated using a bi-component extended phase
graph model. The results show that fatty infiltration in DM1 is a slow gradual
process whereby the distal part of the muscle is more heavily fat infiltrated
than the proximal part. In addition, muscles that are in an active process of
fatty infiltration have an elevated T2water, possibly from reactive
edema.
