Rationale and objectives: We sought to initially evaluate the feasibility of R2' on a 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) scanner for assessment of renal oxygenation changes following administration of furosemide in rats.
Materials and methods: Eight intact male Wistar rats were involved in experimental group. The experiment was performed at a 3-T MR scanner using a multiple gradient-echo (mGRE) sequence for R2* map and a multiecho fast spin-echo (FSE) sequence for R2 map. R2' values of cortex and medulla were calculated using the equation R2* = R2 + R2'. The values of R2 and R2* were measured and R2' was calculated before and after administration of furosemide, and the changes (delta values) were calculated.
Results: Both R2* and R2 values decreased significantly after administration of furosemide (P < .001) in both the cortex and medulla. DeltaR2* in the medulla was significantly higher than in the cortex (P < .05). DeltaR2 was not significantly different between the cortex and medulla (P > .05). The baseline R2' value was 12.13 +/- 0.59 1/s in the cortex and 19.52 +/- 3.44 1/s in the medulla. R2' value decreased significantly in the medulla after administration of furosemide (P < .05), but there was no significant difference in the cortex before and after administration of furosemide (P > .05).
Conclusion: R2' may be more appropriate than R2* to indicate the change of oxygenation after administration of furosemide in intact rats at 3-T MR. Further studies are needed for both intact animals and experimental models in comparison with non-MR imaging methods to validate this initial observation.