Recent research found strain parameters taken from a cine MRI-based deformable registration algorithm (DRA) can determine the severity of amyloid buildup in the heart and may provide prognostic information on patients with light-chain (AL) amyloidosis.
The study was published online April 17 in Radiology.
Researchers set out to measure left ventricular (LV) myocardial strain in the study group that is “a strong predictor of poor outcome in patients with AL amyloidosis,” wrote first author Ke Wan, with the department of cardiology at West China Hospital in Sichuan University, and colleagues. “And early detection of LV dysfunction in these patients is crucial.”
This prospective study included 78 AL amyloidosis patients who underwent contrast material-enhanced cardiac MRI. Scientists looked for LV myocardial strains and late gandolinium enhancement (LGE).
Global longitudinal strain (GLS) and global circumferential strain (GCS) were reduced in patients with cardiac amyloidosis compared to the healthy control group.
“This result suggests that DRA-derived strain could be a simple way to detect early myocardial dysfunction in patients with AL amyloidosis,” Wan et al. wrote.
Another important result showed LV myocardial mechanics were impaired at the basal level in patients without clinical cardiac amyloidosis, and LGE was observed in basal segments in patients with cardiac amyloidosis.
The group also found myocardial strains enabled differentiation of transmural versus non-transmural cardiac amyloidosis, suggesting the LV strains detected with DRA analyses could be used as parameters for the severity of amyloid infiltration and to monitor the progression of AL amyloidosis,” authors wrote.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.