Objective: This study aimed to prospectively evaluate the difference in renal parenchymal stiffness, measured using MR elastography, between patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and healthy volunteers. In addition, differences in stiffness values were assessed among the five stages of CKD.
Materials and methods: Five healthy volunteers and 25 patients with CKD (five patients in each stage) were enrolled in the study. Each patient was positioned prone in a 3-T MR scanner and imaged with an abdominal 64-channel surface coil. Calculated tissue stiffness values were compared with the corresponding stage of CKD.
Results: The mean stiffnesses in normal healthy volunteers and patients with CKD (regardless of stage) were 4.35 kPa and 5.10 kPa, respectively (p = 0.027). The mean stiffness in patients with CKD significantly increased with the CKD stage (p = 0.013), although it decreased in stage 5 CKD.
Conclusion: Renal tissue stiffness measured using MR elastography can be used to distinguish between patients with CKD and healthy individuals; moreover, it can be useful in predicting the stage of CKD.
Keywords: Chronic kidney disease; Elasticity imaging techniques; Fibrosis; Magnetic resonance imaging; Renal stiffness.