Age-related changes in normal adult pancreas: MR imaging evaluation |
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Authors: | Sato Tomohiro Ito Katsuyoshi Tamada Tsutomu Sone Teruki Noda Yasufumi Higaki Atsushi Kanki Akihiko Tanimoto Daigo Higashi Hiroki |
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Affiliation: | Department of Radiology, Kawasaki Medical School, Matsushima, Kurashiki City, Okayama, 701-0192, Japan. tomohiro@med.kawasaki-m.ac.jp |
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Abstract: | ObjectiveTo investigate age-related changes in normal adult pancreas as identified by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Materials and methodsWe examined 115 patients without pancreatic diseases (21–90 years) who underwent upper abdominal MRI to evaluate the normal pancreatic MRI findings related to aging. The parameters examined were the pancreatic anteroposterior (AP) diameter, pancreatic lobulation, pancreatic signal intensity (SI), depiction of the main pancreatic duct (MPD), grade of the visual SI decrease on the opposed-phase T1-weighted images compared with in-phase images, and enhancement effect of the pancreas in the arterial phase of dynamic imaging.ResultsThe pancreatic AP diameter significantly reduced (head, p = 0.0172; body, p = 0.0007; tail, p < 0.0001), and lobulation (p < 0.0001) and parenchymal fatty change (p < 0.0001) became more evident with aging. No significant correlation was observed between aging and pancreatic SI, however the SI on the in-phase T1-weighted images tended to decrease with aging. No significant correlation was observed between aging and the depiction of the MPD as well as aging and contrast enhancement.ConclusionMRI findings of pancreatic atrophy, lobulation, and fatty degeneration are characteristic changes related to aging, and it is necessary to recognize these changes in the interpretation of abdominal MRI in patients with and without pancreatic disease. |
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Keywords: | Pancreas Age-related changes Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Atrophy Lobulation Fatty degeneration |
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