Xj. Chen et al., Detection of emphysema in rat lungs by using magnetic resonance measurements of He-3 diffusion, P NAS US, 97(21), 2000, pp. 11478-11481
Citations number
29
Categorie Soggetti
Multidisciplinary
Journal title
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Emphysema is a pulmonary disease characterized by alveolar wall destruction
, resulting in enlargement of gas exchange spaces without fibrosis, This co
ndition is a part of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which ca
uses 3.5% of deaths worldwide [Anonymous (1990) World Health Stat Q. Specia
l, 1-51] and contributes greatly to the global burden of disease [Murray, C
, J, & Lopez, A. D. (1996) Science 274, 740-743]. Alveolar regeneration has
been shown in animal models and could have potential for clinical treatmen
t of early-stage emphysema, However, current techniques for detection of em
physema are not sensitive at the initial stages. Early-stage human panacina
r emphysema is modeled in elastase-treated animals. Here, we provide an in
vivo imaging method for differentiating normal and emphysematous rat lungs
by measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of hyperpolarized He-
3 by using magnetic resonance imaging. These data show that the ADC is sign
ificantly larger in elastase-treated rats, indicating alveolar expansion. W
hereas these rats were clinically asymptomatic, conventional histology conf
irmed presence of injury. Our results indicate that measurement of the hype
rpolarized He-3 ADC can be a valuable research tool and has potential appli
cation in the clinical setting.