title: Age-related changes in normal adult pancreas: MR imaging evaluation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate age-related changes in normal adult pancreas as identified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined 115 patients without pancreatic diseases (21-90 years) who underwent upper abdominal MRI to evaluate the normal pancreatic MRI findings related to aging. The parameters examined were the pancreatic anteroposterior (AP) diameter, pancreatic lobulation, pancreatic signal intensity (SI), depiction of the main pancreatic duct (MPD), grade of the visual SI decrease on the opposed-phase T1-weighted images compared with in-phase images, and enhancement effect of the pancreas in the arterial phase of dynamic imaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The pancreatic AP diameter significantly reduced (head, p=0.0172; body, p=0.0007; tail, p<0.0001), and lobulation (p<0.0001) and parenchymal fatty change (p<0.0001) became more evident with aging. No significant correlation was observed between aging and pancreatic SI, however the SI on the in-phase T1-weighted images tended to decrease with aging. No significant correlation was observed between aging and the depiction of the MPD as well as aging and contrast enhancement.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI findings of pancreatic atrophy, lobulation, and fatty degeneration are characteristic changes related to aging, and it is necessary to recognize these changes in the interpretation of abdominal MRI in patients with and without pancreatic disease.
authors: Department of Radiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Matsushima, Kurashiki City, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan. tomohiro@med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp
authors: Tomohiro
authors: T
authors: Sato
authors: Katsuyoshi
authors: K
authors: Ito
authors: Tsutomu
authors: T
authors: Tamada
authors: Teruki
authors: T
authors: Sone
authors: Yasufumi
authors: Y
authors: Noda
authors: Atsushi
authors: A
authors: Higaki
authors: Akihiko
authors: A
authors: Kanki
authors: Daigo
authors: D
authors: Tanimoto
authors: Hiroki
authors: H
authors: Higashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D010179:Pancreas / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult