title: Correlation of muscle BOLD MRI with transcutaneous oxygen pressure for assessing microcirculation in patients with systemic sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To prospectively compare calf muscle BOLD MRI with transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2 ) measurement in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and healthy volunteers and thereby get insight into the pathogenesis of vasculopathy in this connective tissue disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve patients with SSc (6 women and 6 men, mean age 53.5 ± 10.0 years) and 12 healthy volunteers (4 men and 8 women, mean age 47 ± 12.1 years) were examined using muscle BOLD MRI and TcPO2. A cuff compression at mid-thigh level was performed to provoke ischemia and reactive hyperemia. BOLD measurements were acquired on a 3 Tesla whole body-scanner in the upper calf region using a multi-echo EPI-sequence with four echo-times (TE: 9/20/31/42 ms) and a repetition time of 2 s. Empirical cross-correlation analysis depending on time lags between BOLD- and TcPO2-measurements was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Maximal cross-correlation of BOLD T2*- and TcPO2-measurements was calculated as 0.93 (healthy volunteers) and 0.90 (SSc patients) for a time lag of approximately 40 s. Both modalities showed substantial differences regarding time course parameters between the SSc patients and healthy volunteers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skeletal muscle BOLD MRI correlated very well with TcPO2 . T2* changes seem to reflect reoxygenation deficits in deeper muscle tissue of SSc patients.
authors: University Hospital Bruderholz, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Basel, Switzerland; University Hospitals Case Medical Center/Case Western Reserve University, Department of Radiology, Cleveland, Ohio.
authors: Sasan
authors: S
authors: Partovi
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Aschwanden
authors: Bjoern
authors: B
authors: Jacobi
authors: Anja-Carina
authors: AC
authors: Schulte
authors: Ulrich A
authors: UA
authors: Walker
authors: Daniel
authors: D
authors: Staub
authors: Stephan
authors: S
authors: Imfeld
authors: Pavel
authors: P
authors: Broz
authors: Daniela
authors: D
authors: Benz
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Zipp
authors: Kurt A
authors: KA
authors: Jaeger
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Takes
authors: Mark R
authors: MR
authors: Robbin
authors: Rolf W
authors: RW
authors: Huegli
authors: Deniz
authors: D
authors: Bilecen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007511:Ischemia / Q000473:pathology*; D007866:Leg / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D011312:Pressure; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012107:Research Design; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen
keywords: MRI; blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD); microcirculation; systemic sclerosis (scleroderma); transcutaneous oxygen pressure (TcPO2)