CORRELATION OF T1 AND T2 RELAXATION RATES IN NORMAL BONE-MARROW WATERWITH SERUM FERRITIN CONCENTRATION

Purpose: This study was made to clarify the paramagnetic effect of iro n stored in the hematopoietic tissue of bone marrow. Material and Meth ods: The T1 and T2 relaxation times of bone-marrow water in the L1-3 v ertebrae of 20 healthy individuals were measured by MR imaging with a 1.5 T magnet. The chemical shift misregistration effect was used to is olate the bone-marrow water. The results were compared with the serum ferritin concentration. Results and Conclusion: Although no correlatio n between the T1 relaxation rate of the water fraction and the serum f erritin concentration was evident, the T2 relaxation rate of the water fraction showed strong linear correlation with the serum ferritin con centration (r=0.87, p<0.0001). Thus, T2 of bone-marrow water accuratel y reflects the amount of iron in normal bone marrow. This finding may be useful in the evaluation of the characteristics of hematopoietic ti ssue in bone marrow.