Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue Quantification by Imaging

The significance and roles of marrow adipose tissue (MAT) are increasingly known, and it is no more considered a passive fat storage but a tissue with significant paracrine and endocrine activities that can cause lipotoxicity and inflammation.

Changes in the MAT volume and fatty acid composition appear to drive bone and hematopoietic marrow deterioration, and studying it may open new horizons to predict bone fragility and anemia development. MAT has the potential to negatively impact bone volume and strength through several mechanisms that are partially described by inflammaging and lipotoxicity terminology. Evidence indicates paramount importance of MAT in age-associated decline of bone and red marrow structure and function. Currently, MAT measurement is being tested and validated by several techniques. However, purpose-specific adaptation of existing imaging technologies and, more importantly, development of new modalities to quantitatively measure MAT are yet to be done.