Multi-parametric Functional MRI in Patients of Chronic Kidney Disease

To explore the value of MR Fingerprinting-generated quantitative maps combined with ASL renal perfusion imaging in the assessment of renal impairment in chronic kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become an important public health problem threatening human health worldwide. The prevalence rate of CKD in Chinese adults is 10.8%, but the awareness rate and diagnosis rate are generally low. At present, the assessment of renal impairment in CKD mainly relies on laboratory tests, such as estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and urinary protein/creatinine ratio, and the value of functional MRI in the assessment of renal impairment in patients with CKD is unclear. As a new sequence still in the scientific research stage, MR Fingerprinting can simultaneously generate quantitative T1 maps, T2 maps and proton-weighted images in one breath holding scan, with short scanning time, high repeatability and accuracy. It has been proved that quantitative techniques of T1 mapping and T2 mapping are valuable for evaluating the degree of renal fibrosis and water content. Kidney is a blood-rich organ, and the blood flow of kidney is of great significance to the evaluation of renal function. ASL uses hydrogen protons in arterial blood as an endogenous tracer to evaluate tissue blood perfusion, and can quantitatively evaluate renal blood perfusion in patients with CKD without the use of exogenous contrast agents, avoiding the risk of aggravated renal damage and nephrogenic fibrosis caused by injection of gadoline-containing contrast agents. The objective of our study was to explore the value of MRF sequence-generated quantitative maps combined with ASL renal perfusion imaging in the assessment of renal impairment in chronic kidney disease.