J Magn Reson Imaging. 2021 Dec 29. doi: 10.1002/jmri.28038. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, inflammatory disease with common musculoskeletal manifestations, notably reductions in bone quality. Bone marrow adipose tissue composition and quantity has been previously linked to bone quality and may play a role in SLE pathophysiology but has not been thoroughly studied.
PURPOSE: To use magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to investigate bone marrow adipose tissue quantity and composition in proximal femur subregions of untreated SLE patients compared to controls and treated patients.
STUDY TYPE: Prospective.
SUBJECTS: A total of 64 female subjects: 28 SLE, 15 glucocorticoid (GC)-treated SLE and 21 matched controls.
FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: Stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) sequence at 3 T.
ASSESSMENT: MRS was performed at multiple echo times in the femoral neck and trochanter regions and fatty acids (FA) composition was computed.
STATISTICAL TESTS: Intergroup comparisons were carried out using ANOVA. A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
RESULTS: SLE patients had significantly higher saturated FA compared to controls in both the femoral neck (+0.12) and trochanter (+0.11), significantly lower monounsaturated FA in the trochanter compared to controls (-0.05), and significantly lower polyunsaturated FA in the femoral neck compared to both controls (-0.07) and SLE patients on GC therapy (-0.05).
DATA CONCLUSION: SLE patients have altered proximal femur marrow fat metabolism, which may reflect a manifestation of, or play a role in, the altered inflammatory response of these patients.
EVIDENCE LEVEL: 2 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.
PMID:34964533 | DOI:10.1002/jmri.28038
