Effect of changes in the menstrual cycle and age on the signal intensity of amide proton transfer imaging in the normal uterus: a preliminary study.

Ya-Qing Kong, Qian-Qian Qu, Lei Ming, Zhe Wang, Xiao-Tong Chi, Kai Deng

Abdominal radiology (New York) 2022 Dec

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To analyze the effect of changes in the menstrual cycle and age on the signal intensity of amide proton transfer (APT) imaging in normal uterine structures. Thirty-one healthy females (age: 21-50 years old) underwent regular pelvic MRI and APT sequences during their menstrual cycle. The APT values of the endometrium, myometrium, and junctional zone were measured. One-way and multi-way analyses of variance were used to analyze the data. Intraindividual difference and Pearson's correlation analyses were also conducted. The APT values of the uterine structures during the menstrual, proliferative, and secretory phases were 3.413 ± 0.682%, 4.776 ± 0.829%, and 5.218 ± 0.772% for the endometrium; 2.966 ± 0.533%, 3.597 ± 0.380%, and 4.324 ± 0.583% for the myometrium; and 1.703 ± 0.393%, 2.362 ± 0.486%, and 2.779 ± 0.528% for the junctional zone. The individual variation in the APT values of the normal uterus during the three menstrual phases was 1.1-1.7%.There were no significant differences in APT values of uterine structures with age. The APT values of the endometrium were greater than those of other structures (P < 0.05).The Pearson correlation coefficients between APT values of uterine structures and menstrual cycle were 0.686, 0.743, and 0.684, respectively. The menstrual cycle had a significant effect on the APT signal intensities of the uterine structures, whereas premenopausal age had no significant effect. Changes in the uterine structures during the menstrual cycle should be considered when using APT to diagnose suspected uterine lesions. © 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Citation

Ya-Qing Kong, Qian-Qian Qu, Lei Ming, Zhe Wang, Xiao-Tong Chi, Kai Deng. Effect of changes in the menstrual cycle and age on the signal intensity of amide proton transfer imaging in the normal uterus: a preliminary study. Abdominal radiology (New York). 2022 Dec;47(12):4219-4226