BONE-MARROW AFTER AUTOLOGOUS BLOOD STEM-CELL TRANSPLANTATION AND TOTAL-BODY IRRADIATION - MAGNETIC-RESONANCE AND CHEMICAL-SHIFT IMAGING

Magnetic resonance studies of the lumbar, pelvic, and femoral bone mar row were performed in 10 patients after autologous blood stem cell tra nsplantation, including total body irradiation and myeloablative chemo therapy. The posttreatment interval varied between 2 and 6 yr. The app earance on T1-weighted images and the quantitative data obtained from chemical shift imaging (relative fat signal) were compared to 10 age-m atched healthy volunteers. The classification of the T1-weighted image s yielded no significant differences between the two groups. Chemical shift imaging by determination of the relative fat signal was able to detect a significant fatty replacement of the patients' lumbar (p < .0 02) and pelvic marrow (p < .01), showing the clinically inapparent dec reased cellularity of the bone marrow. This difference did not change within the interval of 2-6 yr after transplantation.