3.0T MRI T2 mapping combined with diffusion tensor imaging can effectively evaluate type 2 diabetic peripheral neuropathy
YANG Yulin
KOU Mengqi
TIAN Yiqun
GAO Yuting
LIU Yemei
YANG Lanying
Abstract：Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of 3.0T MRI T2 mapping combined with diffusion tensor imaging(DTI)in peripheral neuropathy associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus(DPN).Methods A prospective cohort of 42 patients with DPN hospitalized from January 2021 to April 2024(DPN group),along with 29 healthy controls(HC group),was enrolled.All participants underwent lower limb nerve T2 mapping,DTI,and whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging with background suppression on a 3.0T MRI system.Quantitative parameters were measured,including T2 values of the sciatic and tibial nerves,DTI metrics,quadriceps T2 values,the T2 ratio of sciatic nerve to quadriceps at the same level,and cross-sectional areas of the sciatic and tibial nerves.Group differences were assessed,and diagnostic performance was evaluated using ROC curve analysis.Results Compared with the HC group,patients with DPN exhibited significantly increased T2,axial diffusivity(AD),and radial diffusivity(RD)values of the sciatic and tibial nerves(P<0.001),while fractional anisotropy(FA)and relative anisotropy(RA)values were decreased(P<0.001).Within the DPN group,significant differences were observed between the sciatic and tibial nerves in T2,FA,RD,and RA values(P<0.05),whereas AD values showed no significant difference(P>0.05).No significant intra-group differences were found in the HC group(P>0.05).The quadriceps T2 values and sciatic nerve-to-muscle T2 ratios were higher in the DPN group compared to HC(P<0.05).The cross-sectional areas of both sciatic and tibial nerves also differed significantly between groups(P<0.05).ROC curve analysis revealed that the AUC of T2 values for the sciatic and tibial nerves was 0.864 and 0.726,respectively;for FA values,the AUC was 0.825 and 0.800;and for combined T2 and FA values,the AUC was 0.895 and 0.822,respectively.Conclusion 3.0T MRI T2 mapping combined with DTI enables effective quantitative assessment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy.A diagnostic model integrating T2 and FA values provides superior diagnostic accuracy.This approach not only reveals fat infiltration and water content changes in the quadriceps,but also evaluates morphological alterations of lower limb nerves in DPN patients,offering reliable imaging evidence for early diagnosis and disease assessment.
Keywords：type-2 diabetic peripheral neuropathymagnetic resonanceT2 mappingdiffusion tensor imagingquadriceps muscle
Publication Date：2025-11-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-12-16(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 1344-1352 )