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Comparison of brown and white adipose tissues in infants and children with chemical‐shift‐encoded water‐fat MRI
Author(s) -
Hu Houchun H.,
Yin Larry,
Aggabao Patricia C.,
Perkins Thomas G.,
Chia Jonathan M.,
Gilsanz Vicente
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.24697
Subject(s) - medicine , adipose tissue , overweight , anthropometry , subcutaneous fat , supraclavicular fossa , magnetic resonance imaging , subcutaneous adipose tissue , nuclear medicine , body mass index , radiology , cancer , breast cancer
Purpose To compare fat‐signal fractions (FFs) and T 2 * values between brown (BAT) and white (WAT) adipose tissue located within the supraclavicular fossa and subcutaneous depots, respectively. Materials and Methods Twelve infants and 39 children were studied. Children were divided into lean and overweight/obese subgroups. Chemical‐shift‐encoded water‐fat magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to quantify FFs and T 2 * metrics in the supraclavicular and adjacent subcutaneous adipose tissue depots. Linear regression and t ‐tests were performed. Results Infants had lower supraclavicular FFs than children ( P < 0.01) but T 2 * values were similar ( P = 0.5). Lean children exhibited lower supraclavicular FFs and T 2 * values than overweight children ( P < 0.01). In each individual infant and child, supraclavicular FFs were consistently lower than adjacent subcutaneous FFs. Supraclavicular T 2 * values were consistently lower than subcutaneous T 2 * values in children, but not in infants. FFs in both depots were positively correlated with age and weight in infants ( P < 0.01). In children, they were correlated with weight and body mass index (BMI) ( P < 0.01), but not age. Correlations between T 2 * and anthropometric variables existed in children ( P < 0.01), but were absent in infants. Conclusion Cross‐sectional comparisons suggest variations in FF and T 2 * values in the supraclavicular and subcutaneous depots of infants and children, which are potentially indicative of physiological differences in adipose tissue fat content, amount, and metabolic activity. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2013;38:885–896. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.