LOCALIZED MR H-1 SPECTROSCOPY REVEALS ALTERATIONS OF SUSCEPTIBILITY IN BONE-MARROW WITH HEMOSIDEROSIS

A noninvasive investigation of the structure of hemopoietic bone marro w is based on the determination of the magnetic field distribution wit hin small volume elements in vertebral bodies by localized H-1 MR spec troscopy. In patients with hematological diseases the status of the bo ne marrow was found to considerably influence the homogeneity of the m agnetic field in trabecular bone in vivo. The line widths of the H-1 s ignals were evaluated in follow-up studies during initial chemotherapy of eight patients with leukemia. Intraindividual comparison revealed significant broadening of the field distribution after a few weeks of cytotoxic treatment in five of the patients. Additionally, 19 patients after bone marrow transplantation showed significantly broader field distributions in the lipid signals than 13 matched healthy volunteers. These alterations of the microscopic field homogeneity were not cause d by trabecular density effects. Iliac crest biopsies revealed high am ounts of hemosiderin in the cases with broadened line widths. Ten of t he 19 patients after bone marrow transplantation showed high amounts o f hemosiderin and broad lines in the spectra. The content of hemosider in of the other patients was not significantly increased.