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A novel evaluation of density differences in subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue layers in pregnancy using elastography
Author(s) -
Kennedy Narelle,
Quinton Ann,
Peek Michael John,
Robledo Kristy,
Benzie Ron,
Nanan Ralph
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
australasian journal of ultrasound in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2205-0140
pISSN - 1836-6864
DOI - 10.1002/ajum.12100
Subject(s) - medicine , adipose tissue , fibrosis , elastography , pregnancy , ultrasound , pathology , radiology , biology , genetics
Chronic inflammation leads to adipose tissue ( AT ) fibrosis through excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins. An increasing degree of fibrosis in AT is associated with increasing body mass index ( BMI ) and insulin resistance. Anecdotally AT has been observed to vary with ease of ultrasound penetration on medical examinations. Ultrasound strain elastography ( SE ) is a useful tool in assessing fibrosis in liver disease but has not previously been used to assess AT fibrosis. This study assesses the variance in density of the two anatomical layers of subcutaneous AT , superficial subcutaneous adipose tissue ( SSAT ) and deep subcutaneous adipose tissue ( DSAT ) in pregnancy using SE . Method Women (n = 210) recruited in early pregnancy. Density of SSAT and DSAT were assessed using SE at five‐time points throughout pregnancy and post‐partum. Semi‐quantitative density measures were achieved using two methods, strain values ( SV ) of the two layers and ImageJ software to calculate the percentage colour pixels in the elastography image and correlated with the SSAT / DSAT thickness and BMI . Results Adipose tissue demonstrated a difference in density with the SSAT layer being denser than DSAT . Correlation of tissue density measures with BMI was poor. There was slight change of AT density during pregnancy with a tendency towards harder SSAT and softer DSAT in the third trimester. Post‐partum SSAT became softer associated with an increase in SSAT thickness. Conclusion Elastography demonstrated density differences in adipose tissue. SE is a new method of assessing the AT demonstrating density differences in adipose tissue. Information on AT density may determine AT fibrosis and be valuable for metabolic disease risk.

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