title: Clinical applications of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in diagnosis of renal lesions - a systematic review.
abstract: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) is an established technique to detect the changes of the diffusion of water in biological tissues and reflect the pathophysiological process on the molecular level. It is a promising non-invasive imaging modality in detection of microstructural and functional changes in pathologies of kidney. To systematically review the research advancement of the DW-MRI in diagnosis of renal lesions, a systematic literature search was performed up to 8 October 2014 using the MEDLINE/PubMed and Embase databases for articles reporting on DW-MRI in diagnosis of renal lesions. Only articles with full data about DW-MRI application with potential implication in solving usually encountered clinical challenges about renal lesions were finally examined. The clinical application of DW-MRI allows a better understanding of some pathologic conditions of the kidney including renal insufficiency, renal artery stenosis, ureteral obstruction, foetal kidney disease, hydronephrosis and pyonephrosis. In addition, DW-MRI can also provide clinicians with the information of function evaluation of renal allograft and curative effect assessment of renal tumour. In summary, performance of renal DW-MRI, presuming that measurements are high quality, will further boost this modality, particularly for early detection of diffusion renal conditions, as well as more accurate characterization of renal lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Bhagat Santosh
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Bo
authors.initials: XB
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Mei
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ying-Wen
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Northern Jiangsu People's Hospital, Yangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Li-Qin
authors.initials: LQ
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis
keywords: apparent diffusion coefficient; diffusion renal disease; diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging; foetal kidney disease; renal tumour