MUSCLE EDEMA IN MR-IMAGING OF NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES

Muscle edema has been described as a typical finding on MR images in a cute neuromuscular disorders, predominantly in acute inflammatory myop athies, but also in neuro- and myopathies. The purpose of this study w as to examine the frequency of muscle edema and the diagnostic usefuln ess of Gb-DTPA in neuromuscular diseases. 144 consecutive patients wit h various generalized neuromuscular diseases were examined by MR imagi ng. Areas of high signal intensity, relative to normal muscle, were se en in 36% of T2-weighted images, whereas the corresponding T1-weighted images showed normal or lower signal intensities. These edema-like ab normalities - enlargement of the extracellular fluid space - were foun d more often in inflammatory and metabolic myopathies, but were also s een in degenerative myopathies. Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images i n 25 patients were not more sensitive than plain T2-weighted images.