AGE-RELATED-CHANGES OF WATER AND FAT-CONTENT IN MUSCLES ESTIMATED BY MAGNETIC-RESONANCE (MR) IMAGING

The pixel values in fat/water suppression magnetic resonance (MR) imag es were measured for the thigh muscles of 18 healthy volunteers to inv estigate age-related changes in muscle water and fat content. Prior to the human studies the reproducibility of the data was confirmed using phantoms. The standard deviations (SDs) of the pixel values for one o f the phantoms examined five times were found to be within a relativel y narrow range. Both the pixel values in the fat suppression images (P V1) and the pixel values in the water suppression images (PV2) of all muscles tended to be higher in the oldest group. The results indicate that the water and fat content of skeletal muscles is higher in aged p ersons. Moreover, the PV1 in the non-dominant limbs was found to be in creased in the extensor muscles of the knee joints, while the PV2 in t he non-dominant limbs did not show a significant difference, except fo r the rectus femoris.