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Pediatric Radiology
Published in: Pediatric Radiology 11/2015

01-10-2015 | Original Article

MRI characterization of brown adipose tissue in obese and normal-weight children

Authors: Jie Deng, Samantha E. Schoeneman, Huiyuan Zhang, Soyang Kwon, Cynthia K. Rigsby, Richard M. Shore, Jami L. Josefson

Published in: Pediatric Radiology | Issue 11/2015

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Abstract

Background

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is identified in mammals as an adaptive thermogenic organ for modulation of energy expenditure and heat generation. Human BAT may be primarily composed of brown-in-white (BRITE) adipocytes and stimulation of BRITE may serve as a potential target for obesity interventions. Current imaging studies of BAT detection and characterization have been mainly limited to PET/CT. MRI is an emerging application for BAT characterization in healthy children.

Objective

To exploit Dixon and diffusion-weighted MRI methods to characterize cervical-supraclavicular BAT/BRITE properties in normal-weight and obese children while accounting for pubertal status.

Materials and methods

Twenty-eight healthy children (9–15 years old) with a normal or obese body mass index participated. MRI exams were performed to characterize supraclavicular adipose tissues by measuring tissue fat percentage, T2*, tissue water mobility, and microvasculature properties. We used multivariate linear regression models to compare tissue properties between normal-weight and obese groups while accounting for pubertal status.

Results

MRI measurements of BAT/BRITE tissues in obese children showed higher fat percentage (P < 0.0001), higher T2* (P < 0.0001), and lower diffusion coefficient (P = 0.015) compared with normal-weight children. Pubertal status was a significant covariate for the T2* measurement, with higher T2* (P = 0.0087) in pubertal children compared to prepubertal children. Perfusion measurements varied by pubertal status. Compared to normal-weight children, obese prepubertal children had lower perfusion fraction (P = 0.003) and pseudo-perfusion coefficient (P = 0.048); however, obese pubertal children had higher perfusion fraction (P = 0.02) and pseudo-perfusion coefficient (P = 0.028).

Conclusion

This study utilized chemical-shift Dixon MRI and diffusion-weighted MRI methods to characterize supraclavicular BAT/BRITE tissue properties. The multi-parametric evaluation revealed evidence of morphological differences in brown adipose tissues between obese and normal-weight children.
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Metadata
Title
MRI characterization of brown adipose tissue in obese and normal-weight children
Authors
Jie Deng
Samantha E. Schoeneman
Huiyuan Zhang
Soyang Kwon
Cynthia K. Rigsby
Richard M. Shore
Jami L. Josefson
Publication date
01-10-2015
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
Pediatric Radiology / Issue 11/2015
Print ISSN: 0301-0449
Electronic ISSN: 1432-1998
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00247-015-3391-z

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