Department of Radiology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Eur Radiol. 2021 Sep;31(9):6438-6445. doi: 10.1007/s00330-021-07749-5. Epub 2021 Feb 20.
High cochlear signal intensity on three-dimensional (3D) T2 fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences in patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) has been reported. Here, we evaluated the cochlear T2 relaxation time differences in patients with idiopathic SSNHL using quantitative synthetic MRI (SyMRI).
Twenty-four patients with unilateral SSNHL who underwent precontrast conventional 3D FLAIR and SyMRI were retrospectively included. T1 and T2 relaxation times and the proton density (PD) of the bilateral ears were measured by manually drawn regions of interest. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and intra- and interobserver correlation analyses were performed. Qualitative analysis was also performed to determine the presence and laterality of the asymmetric high signal intensity on synthetic FLAIR (SyFLAIR) images.
The T2 relaxation time was significantly lower in the affected (basal and apico-middle turns) than in the unaffected cochlea (basal turn: 519 ± 181.3 vs. 608.8 ± 203.6, p = 0.042; apico-middle turn: 410.8 ± 163.8 vs. 514.5 ± 186.3, p = 0.037). There were no significant differences in the T1 relaxation time and PD between the affected and unaffected ears (p > 0.05). Additionally, three patients without asymmetric signal intensity on conventional MRI showed asymmetric increased signal intensity in the affected ear on SyFLAIR.
The T2 relaxation time was significantly shorter in the affected than in the unaffected cochlea of patients with idiopathic SSNHL. The SyMRI-derived T2 relaxation time may be a promising imaging marker, suggesting that the changes in inner ear fluid composition are implicated in the idiopathic SSNHL development.
• T2 relaxation time was significantly lower in the affected than in the unaffected cochlea. • SyFLAIR showed increased lesion conspicuity compared to conventional 3D-FLAIR in detecting asymmetric high signal intensity of the affected side. • SyMRI-derived T2 relaxation time may be a promising imaging marker of the affected ear in patients with idiopathic SSNHL.
据报道，患有突发性聋（SSNHL）的患者的三维（3D）T2 液体衰减反转恢复（FLAIR）序列上的耳蜗信号强度较高。在这里，我们使用定量合成 MRI（SyMRI）评估特发性 SSNHL 患者的耳蜗 T2 弛豫时间差异。
回顾性纳入 24 例单侧 SSNHL 患者，均接受了预对比常规 3D FLAIR 和 SyMRI 检查。通过手动绘制感兴趣区测量双侧的 T1 和 T2 弛豫时间和质子密度（PD）。进行 Wilcoxon 符号秩检验和观察者内和观察者间相关性分析。还进行了定性分析，以确定合成 FLAIR（SyFLAIR）图像上不对称高信号的存在和侧别。
受影响的（基底和中尖部）耳蜗的 T2 弛豫时间明显低于未受影响的耳蜗（基底部：519±181.3 与 608.8±203.6，p=0.042；中尖部：410.8±163.8 与 514.5±186.3，p=0.037）。受影响和未受影响的耳朵之间的 T1 弛豫时间和 PD 没有显著差异（p>0.05）。此外，3 名在常规 MRI 上无不对称信号强度的患者在 SyFLAIR 上显示受影响耳的信号强度不对称增加。
特发性 SSNHL 患者的受影响耳蜗的 T2 弛豫时间明显短于未受影响耳蜗。SyMRI 衍生的 T2 弛豫时间可能是一种很有前途的成像标志物，表明内耳液组成的变化与特发性 SSNHL 的发展有关。
受影响的耳蜗的 T2 弛豫时间明显低于未受影响的耳蜗。
与常规 3D-FLAIR 相比，SyFLAIR 显示出更高的病变显示能力，可用于检测受影响侧的不对称高信号。
SyMRI 衍生的 T2 弛豫时间可能是特发性 SSNHL 患者受影响耳的一种很有前途的成像标志物。
