title: Vertebral bone marrow diffusivity in healthy adults at 3T diffusion-weighted imaging.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There has been controversy surrounding the relationship between diffusivity and age in vertebral bone marrow. In particular, gender-related factors that influence the vertebral bone marrow conditions have not yet been identified.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the age- and gender-related diffusivity changes of the lumbar bone marrow by measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 125 healthy adult volunteers were enrolled in this study. Sagittal magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the lumbar spine was performed. The ADC values of vertebral bone marrow were measured and compared between gender and age groups. Correlation analysis was used to evaluate the correlation between the ADC values and age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ADC values of the female participants were significantly higher than those of the male participants (P = 0.023). Among individuals aged less than 50 years, the ADC values of the female participants were significantly higher than those of the male participants (P < 0.001). The ADC values of the pre-menopausal female participants were significantly higher than post-menopausal female participants (P < 0.001). The ADC value was also significantly and negatively correlated with age (r = -0.334, P = 0.001), particularly among women (r = -0.581, P < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bone marrow ADC values of the lumbar spine demonstrated gender- and age-related differences. In particular, gender difference occurred among participants aged less than 50 years. These findings likely reflect changes in the cellular component of the lumbar bone marrow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Third Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Province Biomechanical Key Laboratory of Orthopedics, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, PR China jiehe2004@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: He
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jie
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, First Affiliated Hospital, Tianjin University of Chinese Medicine, PR China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Third Hospital, Hebei Medical University, Hebei Province Biomechanical Key Laboratory of Orthopedics, Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, PR China.
authors.forename: Li Xiao
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Na
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
keywords: Bone marrow; apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC); b factor; diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI); magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); spine