[NMR tomography of the skeletal muscles in neuromuscular diseases]

MR tomography is a useful procedure for assessing changes in size and structure of skeletal muscles in three dimensions. It provides excellent soft tissue contrast resolution, but spatial resolution requires to be improved. Myatrophic alterations can be shown best by using short echo delay times (TE) and short repetition times (TR). Muscles with fatty degeneration reveal a change in signal intensity and in relaxation times. These reproducible MR findings indicate appropriate areas of EMG diagnosis and biopsy and provide objective follow-ups.