Associations of incidental vertebral fractures and longitudinal changes of MR–based proton density fat fraction and T2* measurements of vertebral bone marrow

Leonhardt Y, Ketschau J, Ruschke S, Gassert FT, Glanz L, Feuerriegel GC, Gassert FG, Baum T, Kirschke JS, Braren RF, Schwaiger BJ, Makowski MR, Karampinos DC, Gersing AS (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Frontiers in Endocrinology Frontiers Media

Book Volume: 13

Article Number: 1046547

DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1046547

Abstract

Background: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques such as chemical shift encoding-based water-fat separation techniques (CSE-MRI) are increasingly applied as noninvasive biomarkers to assess the biochemical composition of vertebrae. This study aims to investigate the longitudinal change of proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and T2* derived from CSE-MRI of the thoracolumbar vertebral bone marrow in patients that develop incidental vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), and whether PDFF and T2* enable the prediction of an incidental VCF. Methods: In this study we included 48 patients with CT-derived bone mineral density (BMD) measurements at baseline. Patients that presented an incidental VCF at follow up (N=12, mean age 70.5 ± 7.4 years, 5 female) were compared to controls without incidental VCF at follow up (N=36, mean age 71.1 ± 8.6 years, 15 females). All patients underwent 3T MRI, containing a significant part of the thoracolumbar spine (Th11-L4), at baseline, 6-month and 12 month follow up, including a gradient echo sequence for chemical shift encoding-based water-fat separation, from which PDFF and T2* maps were obtained. Associations between changes in PDFF, T2* and BMD measurements over 12 months and the group (incidental VCF vs. no VCF) were assessed using multivariable regression models. Mixed-effect regression models were used to test if there is a difference in the rate of change in PDFF, T2* and BMD between patients with and without incidental VCF. Results: Prior to the occurrence of an incidental VCF, PDFF in vertebrae increased in the VCF group (ΔPDFF=6.3 ± 3.1%) and was significantly higher than the change of PDFF in the group without VCF (ΔPDFF=2.1 ± 2.5%, P=0.03). There was no significant change in T2* (ΔT2*=1.7 ± 1.1ms vs. ΔT2*=1.1 ± 1.3ms, P=0.31) and BMD (ΔBMD=-1.2 ± 11.3mg/cm3 vs. ΔBMD=-11.4 ± 24.1mg/cm3, P= 0.37) between the two groups over 12 months. At baseline, no significant differences were detected in the average PDFF, T2* and BMD of all measured vertebrae (Th11-L4) between the VCF group and the group without VCF (P=0.66, P=0.35 and P= 0.21, respectively). When assessing the differences in rates of change, there was a significant change in slope for PDFF (2.32 per 6 months, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.31-4.32; P=0.03) but not for T2* (0.02 per 6 months, CI -0.98-0.95; P=0.90) or BMD (-4.84 per 6 months, CI -23.4-13.7; P=0.60). Conclusions: In our study population, the average change of PDFF over 12 months is significantly higher in patients that develop incidental fractures at 12-month follow up compared to patients without incidental VCF, while T2* and BMD show no significant changes prior to the occurrence of the incidental vertebral fractures. Therefore, a longitudinal increase in bone marrow PDFF may be predictive for vertebral compression fractures.

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Leonhardt, Y., Ketschau, J., Ruschke, S., Gassert, F.T., Glanz, L., Feuerriegel, G.C.,... Gersing, A.S. (2022). Associations of incidental vertebral fractures and longitudinal changes of MR–based proton density fat fraction and T2* measurements of vertebral bone marrow. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 13. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2022.1046547

MLA:

Leonhardt, Yannik, et al. "Associations of incidental vertebral fractures and longitudinal changes of MR–based proton density fat fraction and T2* measurements of vertebral bone marrow." Frontiers in Endocrinology 13 (2022).

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