Estimation of proton density fat fraction of the salivary gland.

OBJECTIVE: Our first objective was to prove the validity of the six-point Dixon method for estimating the proton density fat fraction (PDFF) of the salivary gland. The second objective was to estimate the salivary gland PDFF using Dixon method to evaluate the pathological conditions.

METHODS: At first, 12 volunteers underwent two types of sequences: single-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy and the Dixon method and the PDFFs obtained by the two methods were compared. Next, a total of 67 individuals [normal, n = 46; Sjögren's syndrome (SS), n = 11; and IgG4-related dacryoadenitis and sialadenitis (IgG4-DS), n = 4, parotitis, n = 6] were enrolled to estimate the parotid gland (PG) and submandibular gland (SMG) PDFF using the Dixon method.

RESULTS: This volunteer study demonstrated excellent correlation between two methods (R2 = 0.964, slope = 1.05). In the normal group, the PG-PDFF was correlated with the weight and body mass index (BMI) (ρ = 0.38, p = 0.0085; and ρ = 0.63, p < 0.0001). The SMG-PDFF was also correlated with the weight, BMI, and serum triglyceride (ρ = 0.37, p = 0.0067; ρ = 0.42, p = 0.0022; and ρ = 0.35, p = 0.024). The PG-PDFF of the SS group (48.2 ± 15.1%) was higher than that of any other groups; however, no significant difference was found due to the wide overlap. The SS group (39.0 ± 26.14%) also had significantly higher SMG-PDFF than the normal group (8.9 ± 5.4%), p < 0.0001) and IgG4-DS group (3.8 ± 2.3%), p = 0.020).

CONCLUSION: The Dixon method is a feasible method for estimating the PDFF and demonstrates fat accumulation in SMG in the SS group. Advances in knowledge: The PDFF obtained by the Dixon method is helpful for understanding the salivary gland pathological condition.