Retrospective analysis of Braak stage- and APOE4 allele-dependent associations between MR spectroscopy and markers of tau and neurodegeneration in cognitively unimpaired elderly.

PURPOSE: The pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), amyloid, tau, and associated neurodegeneration, are present in the cortical gray matter (GM) years before symptom onset, and at significantly greater levels in carriers of the apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) allele. Their respective biomarkers, A/T/N, have been found to correlate with aspects of brain biochemistry, measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), indicating a potential for MRS to augment the A/T/N framework for staging and prediction of AD. Unfortunately, the relationships between MRS and A/T/N biomarkers are unclear, largely due to a lack of studies examining them in the context of the spatial and temporal model of T/N progression. Advanced MRS acquisition and post-processing approaches have enabled us to address this knowledge gap and test the hypotheses, that glutamate-plus-glutamine (Glx) and N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), metabolites reflecting synaptic and neuronal health, respectively, measured from regions on the Braak stage continuum, correlate with: (i) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) p-tau181 level (T), and (ii) hippocampal volume or cortical thickness of parietal lobe GM (N). We hypothesized that these correlations will be moderated by Braak stage and APOE4 genotype. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective imaging study of 34 cognitively unimpaired elderly individuals who received APOE4 genotyping and lumbar puncture from pre-existing prospective studies at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine between October 2014 and January 2019. Subjects returned for their imaging exam between April 2018 and February 2020. Metabolites were measured from the left hippocampus (Braak II) using a single-voxel semi-adiabatic localization by adiabatic selective refocusing sequence; and from the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC; Braak IV), bilateral precuneus (Braak V), and bilateral precentral gyrus (Braak VI) using a multi-voxel echo-planar spectroscopic imaging sequence. Pearson and Spearman correlations were used to examine the relationships between absolute levels of choline, creatine, myo-inositol, Glx, and NAA and CSF p-tau181, and between these metabolites and hippocampal volume or parietal cortical thicknesses. Covariates included age, sex, years of education, Fazekas score, and months between CSF collection and MRI exam. RESULTS: There was a direct correlation between hippocampal Glx and CSF p-tau181 in APOE4 carriers (Pearson's r = 0.76, p = 0.02), but not after adjusting for covariates. In the entire cohort, there was a direct correlation between hippocampal NAA and hippocampal volume (Spearman's r = 0.55, p = 0.001), even after adjusting for age and Fazekas score (Spearman's r = 0.48, p = 0.006). This relationship was observed only in APOE4 carriers (Pearson's r = 0.66, p = 0.017), and was also retained after adjustment (Pearson's r = 0.76, p = 0.008; metabolite-by-carrier interaction p = 0.03). There were no findings in the PCC, nor in the negative control (late Braak stage) regions of the precuneus and precentral gyrus. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings are in line with the spatially- and temporally-resolved Braak staging model of pathological severity in which the hippocampus is affected earlier than the PCC. The correlations, between MRS markers of synaptic and neuronal health and, respectively, T and N pathology, were found exclusively within APOE4 carriers, suggesting a connection with AD pathological change, rather than with normal aging. We therefore conclude that MRS has the potential to augment early A/T/N staging, with the hippocampus serving as a more sensitive MRS target compared to the PCC.

Utility of a 2D kinematic HASTE sequence in magnetic resonance imaging assessment of adjacent segment degeneration following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a dynamic half-Fourier acquired single turbo spin echo (HASTE) sequence following anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) at the junctional level for adjacent segment degeneration comparing dynamic listhesis to radiographs and assessing dynamic cord contact and deformity during flexion-extension METHODS: Patients with ACDF referred for cervical spine MRI underwent a kinematic flexion-extension sagittal 2D HASTE sequence in addition to routine sequences. Images were independently reviewed by three radiologists for static/dynamic listhesis, and compared to flexion-extension radiographs. Blinded assessment of the HASTE sequence was performed for cord contact/deformity between neutral, flexion, and extension, to evaluate concordance between readers and inter-modality agreement. Inter-reader agreement for dynamic listhesis and impingement grade and inter-modality agreement for dynamic listhesis on MRI and radiographs was assessed using the kappa coefficient and percentage concordance. RESULTS: A total of 28 patients, mean age 60.2 years, were included. Mean HASTE acquisition time was 42 s. 14.3% demonstrated high grade dynamic stenosis (> grade 4) at the adjacent segment. There was substantial agreement for dynamic cord impingement with 70.2% concordance (kappa = 0.62). Concordance across readers for dynamic listhesis using HASTE was 81.0% (68/84) (kappa = 0.16) compared with 71.4% (60/84) (kappa = 0.40) for radiographs. Inter-modality agreement between flexion-extension radiographs and MRI assessment for dynamic listhesis across the readers was moderate (kappa = 0.41; 95% confidence interval: 0.16 to 0.67). CONCLUSIONS: A sagittal flexion-extension HASTE cine sequence provides substantial agreement between readers for dynamic cord deformity and moderate agreement between radiographs and MRI for dynamic listhesis. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Degeneration of the adjacent segment with instability and myelopathy is one of the most common causes of pain and neurological deterioration requiring re-operation following cervical fusion surgery. KEY POINTS: • A real-time kinematic 2D sagittal HASTE flexion-extension sequence can be used to assess for dynamic listhesis, cervical cord, contact and deformity. • The additional kinematic cine sequence was well tolerated and the mean acquisition time for the 2D HASTE sequence was 42 s (range 31-44 s). • A sagittal flexion-extension HASTE cine sequence provides substantial agreement between readers for dynamic cord deformity and moderate agreement between radiographs and MRI for dynamic listhesis.

Spatial profiling of in vivo diffusion-weighted MRI parameters in the healthy human kidney.

OBJECTIVE: Diffusion-weighted MRI is a technique that can infer microstructural and microcirculatory features from biological tissue, with particular application to renal tissue. There is extensive literature on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) of anisotropy in the renal medulla, intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) measurements separating microstructural from microcirculation effects, and combinations of the two. However, interpretation of these features and adaptation of more specific models remains an ongoing challenge. One input to this process is a whole organ distillation of corticomedullary contrast of diffusion metrics, as has been explored for other renal biomarkers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this work, we probe the spatial dependence of diffusion MRI metrics with concentrically layered segmentation in 11 healthy kidneys at 3 T. The metrics include those from DTI, IVIM, a combined approach titled "REnal Flow and Microstructure AnisotroPy (REFMAP)", and a multiply encoded model titled "FC-IVIM" providing estimates of fluid velocity and branching length. RESULTS: Fractional anisotropy decreased from the inner kidney to the outer kidney with the strongest layer correlation in both parenchyma (including cortex and medulla) and medulla with Spearman correlation coefficients and p-values (r, p) of (0.42, <0.001) and (0.37, <0.001), respectively. Also, dynamic parameters derived from the three models significantly decreased with a high correlation from the inner to the outer parenchyma or medulla with (r, p) ranges of (0.46-0.55, <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These spatial trends might find implications for indirect assessments of kidney physiology and microstructure using diffusion MRI.

Deep Learning Reconstruction Enables Prospectively Accelerated Clinical Knee MRI.

Background MRI is a powerful diagnostic tool with a long acquisition time. Recently, deep learning (DL) methods have provided accelerated high-quality image reconstructions from undersampled data, but it is unclear if DL image reconstruction can be reliably translated to everyday clinical practice. Purpose To determine the diagnostic equivalence of prospectively accelerated DL-reconstructed knee MRI compared with conventional accelerated MRI for evaluating internal derangement of the knee in a clinical setting. Materials and Methods A DL reconstruction model was trained with images from 298 clinical 3-T knee examinations. In a prospective analysis, patients clinically referred for knee MRI underwent a conventional accelerated knee MRI protocol at 3 T followed by an accelerated DL protocol between January 2020 and February 2021. The equivalence of the DL reconstruction of the images relative to the conventional images for the detection of an abnormality was assessed in terms of interchangeability. Each examination was reviewed by six musculoskeletal radiologists. Analyses pertaining to the detection of meniscal or ligament tears and bone marrow or cartilage abnormalities were based on four-point ordinal scores for the likelihood of an abnormality. Additionally, the protocols were compared with use of four-point ordinal scores for each aspect of image quality: overall image quality, presence of artifacts, sharpness, and signal-to-noise ratio. Results A total of 170 participants (mean age ± SD, 45 years ± 16; 76 men) were evaluated. The DL-reconstructed images were determined to be of diagnostic equivalence with the conventional images for detection of abnormalities. The overall image quality score, averaged over six readers, was significantly better (P < .001) for the DL than for the conventional images. Conclusion In a clinical setting, deep learning reconstruction enabled a nearly twofold reduction in scan time for a knee MRI and was diagnostically equivalent with the conventional protocol. © RSNA, 2023 Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Roemer in this issue.

Cardiac Phase and Flow Compensation Effects on REnal Flow and Microstructure AnisotroPy MRI in Healthy Human Kidney.

BACKGROUND: Renal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) involves microstructure and microcirculation, quantified with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM), and hybrid models. A better understanding of their contrast may increase specificity. PURPOSE: To measure modulation of DWI with cardiac phase and flow-compensated (FC) diffusion gradient waveforms. STUDY TYPE: Prospective. POPULATION: Six healthy volunteers (ages: 22-48 years, five females), water phantom. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3-T, prototype DWI sequence with 2D echo-planar imaging, and bipolar (BP) or FC gradients. 2D Half-Fourier Single-shot Turbo-spin-Echo (HASTE). Multiple-phase 2D spoiled gradient-echo phase contrast (PC) MRI. ASSESSMENT: BP and FC water signal decays were qualitatively compared. Renal arteries and velocities were visualized on PC-MRI. Systolic (peak velocity), diastolic (end stable velocity), and pre-systolic (before peak velocity) phases were identified. Following mutual information-based retrospective self-registration of DWI within each kidney, and Marchenko-Pastur Principal Component Analysis (MPPCA) denoising, combined IVIM-DTI analysis estimated mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA), and eigenvalues (λi) from tissue diffusivity (Dt ), perfusion fraction (fp ), and pseudodiffusivity (Dp , Dp,axial , Dp,radial ), for each tissue (cortex/medulla, segmented on b0/FA respectively), phase, and waveform (BP, FC). Monte Carlo water diffusion simulations aided data interpretation. STATISTICAL TESTS: Mixed model regression probed differences between tissue types and pulse sequences. Univariate general linear model analysis probed variations among cardiac phases. Spearman correlations were measured between diffusion metrics and renal artery velocities. Statistical significance level was set at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Water BP and FC signal decays showed no differences. Significant pulse sequence dependence occurred for λ1 , λ3 , FA, Dp , fp , Dp,axial , Dp,radial in cortex and medulla, and medullary λ2 . Significant cortex/medulla differences occurred with BP for all metrics except MD (systole [P = 0.224]; diastole [P = 0.556]). Significant phase dependence occurred for Dp , Dp,axial , Dp,radial for BP and medullary λ1 , λ2 , λ3 , MD for FC. FA correlated significantly with velocity. Monte Carlo simulations indicated medullary measurements were consistent with a 34 µm tubule diameter. DATA CONCLUSION: Cardiac gating and flow compensation modulate of measurements of renal diffusion. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 2.

T1 and T2 quantification using magnetic resonance fingerprinting in mild traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether MR fingerprinting (MRF)-based relaxation properties exhibit cross-sectional and prospective correlations with patient outcome and compare the results with those from DTI. METHODS: Clinical imaging, MRF, and DTI were acquired in patients (24 ± 10 days after injury (timepoint 1) and 90 ± 17 days after injury (timepoint 2)) and once in controls. Patient outcome was assessed with global functioning, symptom profile, and neuropsychological testing. ADC and fractional anisotropy (FA) from DTI and T1 and T2 from MRF were compared in 12 gray and white matter regions with Mann-Whitney tests. Bivariate associations between MR measures and outcome were assessed using the Spearman correlation and logistic regression. RESULTS: Data from 22 patients (38 ± 12 years; 17 women) and 18 controls (32 ± 8 years; 12 women) were analyzed. Fourteen patients (37 ± 12 years; 11 women) returned for timepoint 2, while two patients provided only timepoint 2 clinical outcome data. At timepoint 1, there were no differences between patients and controls in T1, T2, and ADC, while FA was lower in mTBI frontal white matter. T1 at timepoint 1 and the change in T1 exhibited more (n = 18) moderate to strong correlations (|r|= 0.6-0.85) with clinical outcome at timepoint 2 than T2 (n = 3), FA (n = 7), and ADC (n = 2). High T1 at timepoint 1, and serially increasing T1, accounted for five of the six MR measures with the highest utility for identification of non-recovered patients at timepoint 2 (AUC > 0.80). CONCLUSION: T1 derived from MRF was found to have higher utility than T2, FA, and ADC for predicting 3-month outcome after mTBI. KEY POINTS: • In a region-of-interest approach, FA, ADC, and T1 and T2 all showed limited utility in differentiating patients from controls at an average of 24 and 90 days post-mild traumatic brain injury. • T1 at 24 days, and the serial change in T1, revealed more and stronger predictive correlations with clinical outcome at 90 days than did T2, ADC, or FA. • T1 showed better prospective identification of non-recovered patients at 90 days than ADC, T2, and FA.

Non-invasive quantification of inflammation, axonal and myelin injury in multiple sclerosis.

The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility of diffusion basis spectrum imaging in multiple sclerosis at 7 T and to investigate the pathological substrates of tissue damage in lesions and normal-appearing white matter. To this end, 43 patients with multiple sclerosis (24 relapsing-remitting, 19 progressive), and 21 healthy control subjects were enrolled. White matter lesions were classified in T1-isointense, T1-hypointense and black holes. Mean values of diffusion basis spectrum imaging metrics (fibres, restricted and non-restricted fractions, axial and radial diffusivities and fractional anisotropy) were measured from whole brain white matter lesions and from both lesions and normal appearing white matter of the corpus callosum. Significant differences were found between T1-isointense and black holes (P ranging from 0.005 to <0.001) and between lesions' centre and rim (P < 0.001) for all the metrics. When comparing the three subject groups in terms of metrics derived from corpus callosum normal appearing white matter and T2-hyperintense lesions, a significant difference was found between healthy controls and relapsing-remitting patients for all metrics except restricted fraction and fractional anisotropy; between healthy controls and progressive patients for all metrics except restricted fraction and between relapsing-remitting and progressive multiple sclerosis patients for all metrics except fibres and restricted fractions (P ranging from 0.05 to <0.001 for all). Significant associations were found between corpus callosum normal-appearing white matter fibres fraction/non-restricted fraction and the Symbol Digit Modality Test (respectively, r = 0.35, P = 0.043; r = -0.35, P = 0.046), and between black holes radial diffusivity and Expanded Disability Status Score (r = 0.59, P = 0.002). We showed the feasibility of diffusion basis spectrum imaging metrics at 7 T, confirmed the role of the derived metrics in the characterization of lesions and normal appearing white matter tissue in different stages of the disease and demonstrated their clinical relevance. Thus, suggesting that diffusion basis spectrum imaging is a promising tool to investigate multiple sclerosis pathophysiology, monitor disease progression and treatment response.

Prediction of Total Knee Replacement and Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis by Using Deep Learning on Knee Radiographs: Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative.

Background The methods for assessing knee osteoarthritis (OA) do not provide enough comprehensive information to make robust and accurate outcome predictions. Purpose To develop a deep learning (DL) prediction model for risk of OA progression by using knee radiographs in patients who underwent total knee replacement (TKR) and matched control patients who did not undergo TKR. Materials and Methods In this retrospective analysis that used data from the OA Initiative, a DL model on knee radiographs was developed to predict both the likelihood of a patient undergoing TKR within 9 years and Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade. Study participants included a case-control matched subcohort between 45 and 79 years. Patients were matched to control patients according to age, sex, ethnicity, and body mass index. The proposed model used a transfer learning approach based on the ResNet34 architecture with sevenfold nested cross-validation. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and conditional logistic regression assessed model performance for predicting probability and risk of TKR compared with clinical observations and two binary outcome prediction models on the basis of radiographic readings: KL grade and OA Research Society International (OARSI) grade. Results Evaluated were 728 participants including 324 patients (mean age, 64 years ± 8 [standard deviation]; 222 women) and 324 control patients (mean age, 64 years ± 8; 222 women). The prediction model based on DL achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.87 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.85, 0.90), outperforming a baseline prediction model by using KL grade with an AUC of 0.74 (95% CI: 0.71, 0.77; P < .001). The risk for TKR increased with probability that a person will undergo TKR from the DL model (odds ratio [OR], 7.7; 95% CI: 2.3, 25; P < .001), KL grade (OR, 1.92; 95% CI: 1.17, 3.13; P = .009), and OARSI grade (OR, 1.20; 95% CI: 0.41, 3.50; P = .73). Conclusion The proposed deep learning model better predicted risk of total knee replacement in osteoarthritis than did binary outcome models by using standard grading systems. © RSNA, 2020 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Richardson in this issue.

Hepatocellular carcinoma detection in liver cirrhosis: diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced CT vs. MRI with extracellular contrast vs. gadoxetic acid.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced CT vs. MRI with extracellular contrast agents (EC-MRI) vs. MRI with gadoxetic acid (EOB-MRI) for HCC detection in patients with liver cirrhosis using liver explant as the reference. The additional value of hepatobiliary phase (HBP) post Gadoxetic acid was also assessed. METHODS: Two-hundred seventy-seven consecutive patients who underwent liver transplantation over a 9 year period and imaging within 90 days of were retrospectively included. Imaging consisted in CT (n = 100), EC-MRI (n = 77) and EOB-MRI (n = 100), the latter subdivided into dynamic EOB-MRI and full EOB-MRI (dynamic+HBP). Three radiologists retrospectively categorized lesions ≥ 1 cm using the LI-RADSv2017 algorithm. Dynamic EOB-MRI was re-evaluated with the addition of HBP. Results were correlated with explant pathology. RESULTS: Pathology demonstrated 265 HCCs (mean size 2.1 ± 1.4 cm) in 177 patients. Per-patient sensitivities were 86.3% for CT, 89.5% for EC-MRI, 92.8% for dynamic EOB-MRI and 95.2% for full EOB-MRI (pooled reader data), with a significant difference between CT and dynamic/full EOB-MRI (p = 0.032/0.002), and between EC-MRI and full EOB-MRI (p = 0.047). Per-lesion sensitivities for CT, EC-MRI, dynamic EOB-MRI and full EOB-MRI were 59.5%,78.5%,69.7% and 76.8%, respectively, with a significant difference between MRI groups and CT (p-range:0.001-0.04), and no difference between EC-MRI and dynamic EOB-MRI (p = 0.949). For HCCs 1-1.9 cm, sensitivities were 34.4%, 64.6%, 57.3% and 67.3%, respectively, with all MRI groups significantly superior to CT (p ≤ 0.01) and full EOB-MRI superior to dynamic EOB-MRI (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: EOB-MRI outperforms CT and EC-MRI for per-patient HCC detection sensitivity, and is equivalent to EC-MRI for per-lesion sensitivity. MRI methods outperform CT for detection of HCCs 1-1.9 cm. KEY POINTS: • MRI is superior to CT for HCC detection in patients with liver cirrhosis. • EOB-MRI outperforms CT and MRI using extracellular contrast agents (EC-MRI) for per-patient HCC detection sensitivity, and is equivalent to EC-MRI for per-lesion sensitivity. • The addition of hepatobiliary phase images improves HCC detection when using gadoxetic acid.

Gadoxetate-enhanced abbreviated MRI is highly accurate for hepatocellular carcinoma screening.

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to compare the performance of 3 different abbreviated MRI (AMRI) sets extracted from a complete gadoxetate-enhanced MRI obtained for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening. Secondary objective was to perform a preliminary cost-effectiveness analysis, comparing each AMRI set to published ultrasound performance for HCC screening in the USA. METHODS: This retrospective study included 237 consecutive patients (M/F, 146/91; mean age, 58 years) with chronic liver disease who underwent a complete gadoxetate-enhanced MRI for HCC screening in 2017 in a single institution. Two radiologists independently reviewed 3 AMRI sets extracted from the complete exam: non-contrast (NC-AMRI: T2-weighted imaging (T2wi)+diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI)), dynamic-AMRI (Dyn-AMRI: T2wi+DWI+dynamic T1wi), and hepatobiliary phase AMRI (HBP-AMRI: T2wi+DWI+T1wi during the HBP). Each patient was classified as HCC-positive/HCC-negative based on the reference standard, which consisted in all available patient data. Diagnostic performance for HCC detection was compared between sets. Estimated set characteristics, including historical ultrasound data, were incorporated into a microsimulation model for cost-effectiveness analysis. RESULTS: The reference standard identified 13/237 patients with HCC (prevalence, 5.5%; mean size, 33.7 ± 30 mm). Pooled sensitivities were 61.5% for NC-AMRI (95% confidence intervals, 34.4-83%), 84.6% for Dyn-AMRI (60.8-95.1%), and 80.8% for HBP-AMRI (53.6-93.9%), without difference between sets (p range, 0.06-0.16). Pooled specificities were 95.5% (92.4-97.4%), 99.8% (98.4-100%), and 94.9% (91.6-96.9%), respectively, with a significant difference between Dyn-AMRI and the other sets (p < 0.01). All AMRI methods were effective compared with ultrasound, with life-year gain of 3-12 months against incremental costs of US$ < 12,000. CONCLUSIONS: NC-AMRI has limited sensitivity for HCC detection, while HBP-AMRI and Dyn-AMRI showed excellent sensitivity and specificity, the latter being slightly higher for Dyn-AMRI. Cost-effectiveness estimates showed that AMRI is effective compared with ultrasound. KEY POINTS: • Comparison of different abbreviated MRI (AMRI) sets reconstructed from a complete gadoxetate MRI demonstrated that non-contrast AMRI has low sensitivity (61.5%) compared with contrast-enhanced AMRI (80.8% for hepatobiliary phase AMRI and 84.6% for dynamic AMRI), with all sets having high specificity. • Non-contrast and hepatobiliary phase AMRI can be performed in less than 14 min (including set-up time), while dynamic AMRI can be performed in less than 17 min. • All AMRI sets were cost-effective for HCC screening in at-risk population in comparison with ultrasound.

Supraspinatus muscle shear wave elastography (SWE): detection of biomechanical differences with varying tendon quality prior to gray-scale morphologic changes.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether SWE can detect biomechanical changes in the supraspinatus muscle that occur with increasing supraspinatus tendon abnormality prior to morphologic gray-scale changes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An IRB approved, HIPAA compliant retrospective study of shoulder ultrasounds from 2013-2018 was performed. The cohort consisted of 88 patients (mean age 55 ± 15 years old) with 110 ultrasounds. Images were acquired in longitudinal orientation to the supraspinatus muscle with shear wave velocity (SWV) point quantification. The tendon and muscle were graded in order of increasing tendinosis/tear (1-4 scale) and increasing fatty infiltration (0-3 scale). Mixed model analysis of variance, analysis of covariance, and Spearman rank correlation were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant age or sex dependence for supraspinatus muscle SWV (p = 0.314, 0.118, respectively). There was no significant correlation between muscle SWV and muscle or tendon grade (p = 0.317, 0.691, respectively). In patients with morphologically normal muscle on gray-scale ultrasound, there were significant differences in muscle SWV when comparing tendon grade 3 with grades 1, 2, and 4 (p = 0.018, 0.025, 0.014, respectively), even when adjusting for gender and age (p = 0.044, 0.028, 0.018, respectively). Pairwise comparison of tendon grades other than those mentioned did not achieve statistical significance (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: SWE can detect biomechanical differences within the supraspinatus muscle that are not morphologically evident on gray-scale ultrasound. Specifically, supraspinatus tendon partial tears with moderate to severe tendinosis may correspond to biomechanically distinct muscle properties compared to both lower grades of tendon abnormality and full-thickness tears.

City Patterns of Screening Mammography Uptake and Disparity across the United States.

Background Although previous studies have focused on rural disparities in the use of screening mammography, city-level use throughout the United States has not been well evaluated even though more than 30 million women live in the 500 largest cities. Purpose To evaluate disparities in the city-level use of screening mammography and to identify factors that have an impact on screening utilization. Materials and Methods This retrospective study used data from large publicly available databases, the American Community Survey and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 500 Cities Project, which includes screening mammography utilization data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Databases were searched from January to March 2018. The use of screening mammography was evaluated at the city level by census region and division by using the Mann-Whitney U test. Univariable Spearman rank correlation and multivariable regression analysis were performed to determine the impact of factors on screening use, including population size, health-related variables (use of Papanicolaou test, obesity), income variables (median household income, poverty status, health insurance), and race. Results Overall mean city-level screening mammography use rate was 77.7% (range, 62.8%-88.9%). The highest mean utilization occurred in coastal cities, with the highest overall utilization in the New England area (82.7%). The lowest utilization rate was in Mountain states (73.6%). City-level utilization showed a positive correlation with Papanicolaou test use (r = 0.75, P < .001), median household income (r = 0.44, P < .001), and percentage Asian population (r = 0.38, P < .001) and a negative correlation with obesity (r = -0.36, P < .001), the lack of health insurance (r = -0.44, P < .001), and poverty (r = -0.30, P < .001). Multivariable analysis showed the strongest independent predictors of utilization to be percentage of women screened with the Papanicolaou test, Asian race, private insurance, and census division (R2 = 68%). Conclusion Disparities in the utilization of preventive health care services exist at the large city level, with the highest use in New England cities and lowest in Mountain cities. Predictors of higher than average utilization include census division and percentage of inhabitants who are up to date with the Papanicolaou test, are of Asian race, and have private insurance. © RSNA, 2019.

Breast Cancer Screening in High-Risk Men: A 12-year Longitudinal Observational Study of Male Breast Imaging Utilization and Outcomes.

Background Male breast cancer incidence is rising. There may be a potential role in selective screening in men at elevated risk for breast cancer, but the effectiveness of such screening remains unexplored. Purpose To evaluate patterns of male breast imaging utilization, to determine high-risk screening outcomes, and to delineate risk factors associated with cancer diagnosis. Materials and Methods This retrospective study reviewed consecutive male breast imaging examinations over a 12-year period (between 2005-2017). Examination indications, biopsy recommendations, and pathologic results were correlated with patient characteristics. Fisher exact test, Mann-Whitney test, Spearman correlation, and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Results A total of 1869 men (median age, 55 years; range, 18-96 years) underwent 2052 examinations yielding 2304 breast lesions and resulting in 149 (6.5%) biopsies in 133 men; 41 (27.5%) were malignant and 108 (72.5%) were benign. There were 1781 (86.8%) diagnostic and 271 (13.2%) screening examinations. All men undergoing screening had personal or family history of breast cancer and/or genetic mutations. There was a significant increase in the number of examinations in men relative to the number of examinations in women over time (Spearman correlation, r = 0.85; P < .001). Five node-negative cancers resulted from screening mammography, yielding a cancer detection rate of 18 per 1000 examinations (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7, 41), with cancers diagnosed on average after 4 person-years of screening (range, 1-10 person-years). Mammographic screening sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of biopsy were 100% (95% CI: 50%, 100%), 95.0% (95% CI: 93.1%, 98%), and 50% (95% CI: 22.2%, 77.8%). Older age (P < .001), Ashkenazi descent (P < .001), genetic mutations (P = .006), personal history (P < .001), and first-degree family history (P = .03) were associated with breast cancer. Non-first-degree family history was not associated with cancer (P = .09). Conclusion There is potential benefit in screening men at high risk for developing breast cancer. Such screening may have increased over time. © RSNA, 2019.

Quantitative multivoxel proton MR spectroscopy for the identification of white matter abnormalities in mild traumatic brain injury: Comparison between regional and global analysis.

BACKGROUND: 3D brain proton MR spectroscopic imaging (1 H MRSI) facilitates simultaneous metabolic profiling of multiple loci, at higher, sub-1 cm3 , spatial resolution than single-voxel 1 H MRS with the ability to separate tissue-type partial volume contribution(s). PURPOSE: To determine if: 1) white matter (WM) damage in mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is homogeneously diffuse, or if specific regions are more affected; 2) partial-volume-corrected, structure-specific 1 H MRSI voxel averaging is sensitive to regional WM metabolic abnormalities. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective cross-sectional cohort study. POPULATION: Twenty-seven subjects: 15 symptomatic mTBI patients, 12 matched controls. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3T using 3D 1 H MRSI over a 360-cm3 volume of interest (VOI) centered over the corpus callosum, partitioned into 480 voxels, each 0.75 cm3 . ASSESSMENT: N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), creatine, choline, and myo-inositol concentrations estimated in predominantly WM regions: body, genu, and splenium of the corpus callosum, corona radiata, frontal, and occipital WM. STATISTICAL TESTS: Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to compare patients with controls in terms of regional concentrations. The effect sizes (Cohen's d) of the mean differences were compared across regions and with previously published global data obtained with linear regression of the WM over the entire VOI in the same dataset. RESULTS: Despite patients' global VOI WM NAA being significantly lower than the controls', no regional differences were observed for any metabolite. Regional NAA comparisons, however, were all unidirectional (patients' NAA concentrations < controls') within a narrow range: 0.3 ≤ Cohen's d ≤ 0.6. DATA CONCLUSION: Since the patient group was symptomatic and exhibiting global WM NAA deficits, these findings suggest: 1) diffuse axonal mTBI damage; that is 2) below the 1 H MRSI detection threshold in small regions. Therefore, larger, ie, more sensitive, single-voxel 1 H MRS, placed anywhere in WM regions, may be well suited for mTBI 1 H MRS studies, given that these results are confirmed in other cohorts. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:1424-1432.

Rapid Radial T1 and T2 Mapping of the Hip Articular Cartilage With Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting.

BACKGROUND: Quantitative MRI can detect early changes in cartilage biochemical components, but its routine clinical implementation is challenging. PURPOSE: To introduce a novel technique to measure T1 and T2 along radial sections of the hip for accurate and reproducible multiparametric quantitative cartilage assessment in a clinically feasible scan time. STUDY TYPE: Reproducibility, technical validation. SUBJECTS/PHANTOM: A seven-compartment phantom and three healthy volunteers. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: A novel MR pulse sequence that simultaneously measures proton density (PD), T1 , and T2 at 3 T was developed. Automatic positioning and semiautomatic cartilage segmentation were implemented to improve consistency and simplify workflow. ASSESSMENT: Intra- and interscanner variability of our technique was assessed over multiple scans on three different MR scanners. STATISTICAL TESTS: For each scan, the median of cartilage T1 and T2 over six radial slices was calculated. Restricted maximum likelihood estimation of variance components was used to estimate intrasubject variances reflecting variation between results from the two scans using the same scanner (intrascanner variance) and variation among results from the three scanners (interscanner variance). RESULTS: The estimation error for T1 and T2 with respect to reference standard measurements was less than 3% on average for the phantom. The average interscanner coefficient of variation was 1.5% (1.2-1.9%) and 0.9% (0.0-3.7%) for T1 and T2 , respectively, in the seven compartments of the phantom. Total scan time in vivo was 7:13 minutes to obtain PD, T1 , and T2 maps along six radial hip sections at 0.6 × 0.6 × 4.0 mm3 voxel resolution. Interscanner variability for the in vivo study was 1.99% and 5.46% for T1 and T2 , respectively. in vivo intrascanner variability was 1.15% for T1 and 3.24% for T2 . DATA CONCLUSION: Our method, which includes slice positioning, model-based parameter estimation, and cartilage segmentation, is highly reproducible. It could enable employing quantitative hip cartilage evaluation for longitudinal and multicenter studies. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;50:810-815.

Quantitative magnetic resonance evaluation of the trigeminal nerve in familial dysautonomia.

PURPOSE: Familial dysautonomia (FD) is a rare autosomal recessive disease that affects the development of sensory and autonomic neurons, including those in the cranial nerves. We aimed to determine whether conventional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could detect morphologic changes in the trigeminal nerves of these patients. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of brain MRI of patients with genetically confirmed FD and age- and sex-matched controls. High-resolution 3D gradient-echo T1-weighted sequences were used to obtain measurements of the cisternal segment of the trigeminal nerves. Measurements were obtained using a two-reader consensus. RESULTS: Twenty pairs of trigeminal nerves were assessed in ten patients with FD and ten matched controls. The median (interquartile range) cross-sectional area of the trigeminal nerves in patients with FD was 3.5 (2.1) mm2, compared to 5.9 (2.0) mm2 in controls (P < 0.001). No association between trigeminal nerve area and age was found in patients or controls. CONCLUSIONS: Using conventional MRI, the caliber of the trigeminal nerves was significantly reduced bilaterally in patients with FD compared to controls, a finding that appears to be highly characteristic of this disorder. The lack of correlation between age and trigeminal nerve size supports arrested neuronal development rather than progressive atrophy.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severity Affects Amyloid Burden in Cognitively Normal Elderly. A Longitudinal Study.

RATIONALE: Recent evidence suggests that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may be a risk factor for developing mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. However, how sleep apnea affects longitudinal risk for Alzheimer's disease is less well understood. OBJECTIVES: To test the hypothesis that there is an association between severity of OSA and longitudinal increase in amyloid burden in cognitively normal elderly. METHODS: Data were derived from a 2-year prospective longitudinal study that sampled community-dwelling healthy cognitively normal elderly. Subjects were healthy volunteers between the ages of 55 and 90, were nondepressed, and had a consensus clinical diagnosis of cognitively normal. Cerebrospinal fluid amyloid ß was measured using ELISA. Subjects received Pittsburgh compound B positron emission tomography scans following standardized procedures. Monitoring of OSA was completed using a home sleep recording device. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We found that severity of OSA indices (AHIall [F1,88 = 4.26; P < 0.05] and AHI4% [F1,87 = 4.36; P < 0.05]) were associated with annual rate of change of cerebrospinal fluid amyloid ß42 using linear regression after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and apolipoprotein E4 status. AHIall and AHI4% were not associated with increases in ADPiB-mask (Alzheimer's disease vulnerable regions of interest Pittsburg compound B positron emission tomography mask) most likely because of the small sample size, although there was a trend for AHIall (F1,28 = 2.96, P = 0.09; and F1,28 = 2.32, not significant, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In a sample of cognitively normal elderly, OSA was associated with markers of increased amyloid burden over the 2-year follow-up. Sleep fragmentation and/or intermittent hypoxia from OSA are likely candidate mechanisms. If confirmed, clinical interventions for OSA may be useful in preventing amyloid build-up in cognitively normal elderly.

What Happens after a Diagnosis of High-Risk Breast Lesion at Stereotactic Vacuum-assisted Biopsy? An Observational Study of Postdiagnosis Management and Imaging Adherence.

Purpose To assess adherence with annual or biennial screening mammography after a diagnosis of high-risk lesion(s) at stereotactic biopsy with or without surgical excision and to identify clinical factors that may affect screening adherence after a high-risk diagnosis. Materials and Methods This institutional review board-approved HIPAA-compliant retrospective study included 208 patients who underwent stereotactic biopsy between January 2012 and December 2014 that revealed a high-risk lesion. Whether the patient underwent surgical excision and/or follow-up mammography was documented. Adherence of these women to a protocol of subsequent mammography within 1 year (9-18 months) or within 2 years (9-30 months) was compared with that of 45 508 women with normal screening mammograms who were imaged during the same time period at the same institution. Possible factors relevant to postdiagnosis management and screening adherence were assessed. Consultation with a breast surgeon was identified by reviewing clinical notes. Uptake of pharmacologic chemoprevention following diagnosis (patient decision to take chemopreventive medications) was assessed. The Fisher exact test was used to compare annual or biennial screening adherence rates. Binary logistic regression was used to identify factors predictive of whether women returned for screening within selected time frames. Results In total, 913 (1.3%) of 67 874 women were given a recommendation to undergo stereotactic biopsy, resulting in diagnosis of 208 (22.8%) of 913 high-risk lesions. Excluding those with a prior personal history of breast cancer or upgrade to cancer at surgery, 124 (66.7%) of 186 women underwent surgery and 62 (33.3%) did not. Overall post-high-risk diagnosis adherence to annual or biennial mammography was similar to that in control subjects (annual, 56.4% vs 50.8%, P = .160; biennial, 62.0% vs 60.1%, P = .630). Adherence was significantly better in the surgical group than in the nonsurgical group for annual mammography (70.0% vs 32.0%; odds ratio [OR] = 5.0; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.4, 10.1; P < .001) and for biennial mammography (74.3% vs 40.0%; OR = 4.3; 95% CI: 2.1, 8.8; P < .001). Among the patients in the nonsurgical group, those adherent to annual or biennial mammography were significantly more likely to have seen a breast surgeon than the nonadherent women (annual, 77.3% vs 35.7%, P = .005; biennial, 67.9% vs 36.4%, P = .045). All patients receiving chemopreventive agents underwent a surgical consultation (100%; n = 21). Conclusion Although diagnosis of a high-risk lesion at stereotactic breast biopsy did not compromise overall adherence to subsequent mammographic screening, patients without surgical excision, particularly those who did not undergo a surgical consultation, had significantly lower imaging adherence and chemoprevention uptake as compared with their counterparts who underwent surgery, suggesting that specialist care may be important in optimizing management. © RSNA, 2018.

Feasibility analysis of early temporal kinetics as a surrogate marker for breast tumor type, grade, and aggressiveness.

BACKGROUND: Screening breast MRI has been shown to preferentially detect high-grade ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive carcinoma, likely due to increased angiogenesis resulting in early initial uptake of contrast. As interest grows in abbreviated screening breast MRI (AB-MRI), markers of early contrast washin that can predict tumor grade and potential aggressiveness are of clinical interest. PURPOSE: To evaluate the feasibility of using the initial enhancement ratio (IER) as a surrogate marker for tumor grade, hormone receptor status, and prognostic markers, as an initial step to being incorporated into AB-MRI. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. SUBJECTS: In all, 162 women (mean 55.0 years, range 32.8-87.7 years) with 187 malignancies imaged January 2012-November 2015. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: Images were acquired at 3.0T with a T1 -weighted gradient echo fat-suppressed-volume interpolated breath-hold sequence. ASSESSMENT: Subjects underwent dynamic contrast-enhanced breast MRI with a 7-channel breast coil. IER (% signal increase over baseline at the first postcontrast acquisition) was assessed and correlated with background parenchymal enhancement, washout curves, stage, and final pathology. STATISTICAL TESTS: Chi-square test, Spearman rank correlation, Mann-Whitney U-tests, Bland-Altman analysis, and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: IER was higher for invasive cancer than for DCIS (R1/R2, P < 0.001). IER increased with tumor grade (R1: r = 0.56, P < 0.001, R2: r = 0.50, P < 0.001), as ki-67 increased (R1: r = 0.35, P < 0.001; R2 r = 0.35, P < 0.001), and for node-positive disease (R1/R2, P = 0.001). IER was higher for human epidermal growth factor receptor two-positive and triple negative cancers than for estrogen receptor-positive / progesterone receptor-positive tumors (R1 P < 0.001-0.002; R2 P = 0.0.001-0.011). IER had higher sensitivity (80.6% vs. 75.5%) and specificity (55.8% vs. 48.1%) than washout curves for positive nodes, higher specificity (48.1% vs. 36.5%) and positive predictive value (70.2% vs. 66.7%) for high ki-67, and excellent interobserver agreement (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.82). DATA CONCLUSION: IER, a measurement of early contrast washin, is associated with higher-grade malignancies and tumor aggressiveness and might be potentially incorporated into an AB-MRI protocol. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1692-1700.

Comparison between qualitative and quantitative assessment of background parenchymal enhancement on breast MRI.

BACKGROUND: Potential clinical implications of the level of background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) on breast MRI are increasing. Currently, BPE is typically evaluated subjectively. Tests of concordance between subjective BPE assessment and computer-assisted quantified BPE have not been reported. PURPOSE OR HYPOTHESIS: To compare subjective radiologist assessment of BPE with objective quantified parenchymal enhancement (QPE). STUDY TYPE: Cross-sectional observational study. POPULATION: Between 7/24/2015 and 11/27/2015, 104 sequential patients (ages 23 - 81 years, mean 49 years) without breast cancer underwent breast MRI and were included in this study. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3T; fat suppressed axial T2, axial T1, and axial fat suppressed T1 before and after intravenous contrast. ASSESSMENT: Four breast imagers graded BPE at 90 and 180 s after contrast injection on a 4-point scale (a-d). Fibroglandular tissue masks were generated using a phantom-validated segmentation algorithm, and were co-registered to pre- and postcontrast fat suppressed images to define the region of interest. QPE was calculated. STATISTICAL TESTS: Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses and kappa coefficients (k) were used to compare subjective BPE with QPE. RESULTS: ROC analyses indicated that subjective BPE at 90 s was best predicted by quantified QPE ≤20.2 = a, 20.3-25.2 = b, 25.3-50.0 = c, >50.0 = d, and at 180 s by quantified QPE ≤ 32.2 = a, 32.3-38.3 = b, 38.4-74.5 = c, >74.5 = d. Agreement between subjective BPE and QPE was slight to fair at 90 s (k = 0.20-0.36) and 180 s (k = 0.19-0.28). At higher levels of QPE, agreement between subjective BPE and QPE significantly decreased for all four radiologists at 90 s (P ≤ 0.004) and for three of four radiologists at 180 s (P ≤ 0.004). DATA CONCLUSION: Radiologists were less consistent with QPE as QPE increased. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 Technical Efficacy: Stage 3 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2018;47:1685-1691.