Measurement of water diffusion in hormone-treated rat uteri by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging

In this study, apparent water diffusion coefficients in hormone-treated rat uteri were measured by diffusion-weighted NMR imaging. Four groups of ovariectomized, mature young rats were treated with estrogen, progesterone, estrogen plus progesterone, or saline (as control). It was found that water diffusion is anisotropic in the myometrium, but not in the endometrium, and that it depends on hormonal conditions in the endometrium, but not in the myometrium. The anisotropy of water diffusion can be exploited to improve image contrast among the various uterine tissue types. The hormonal response suggests that diffusion imaging of human uterus may be useful in detecting endometrial pathology.