Assessment of renal allograft function using amide proton transfer imaging.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Nephrology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Renal allograft transplantation is a critical treatment for end-stage renal disease.
• Non-invasive methods are needed for early assessment of transplanted kidney function.
• Amide proton transfer (APT) imaging offers potential for functional evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of APT imaging in assessing the function of transplanted kidneys.
• To correlate APT imaging values with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR).
• To evaluate APT imaging's diagnostic capability for impaired renal allograft function.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study of 44 renal allograft recipients within 2-3 weeks post-transplantation.
• Renal APT imaging performed using a 3.0 T system.
• Recipients categorized by eGFR (<60 vs. ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m²).
• Statistical analysis included Spearman's correlation, t-tests, Mann-Whitney U-test, and ROC curve analysis.

Main Results:

• Cortical and medullary APT values were significantly higher in recipients with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² compared to those with eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m².
• APT values showed a significant negative correlation with eGFR.
• APT imaging demonstrated good ability to diagnose impaired renal allograft function, with higher cortical APT values observed in patients with non-recovered renal function.

Conclusions:

• APT imaging is a promising non-invasive technique for functional assessment of renal allografts.
• Elevated APT values correlate with reduced kidney function post-transplantation.
• Further research can validate APT imaging for routine clinical use in transplant monitoring.