Quantifying myofiber integrity using diffusion MRI and random permeable barrier modeling in skeletal muscle growth and Duchenne muscular dystrophy model in mice

PURPOSE: imaging. METHODS: relaxation. RESULTS: did not have significant correlation with age. Histological measurements of the perimeter-to-area ratio served as a proxy for the model-derived S/V in the cylindrical myofiber geometry, and had a significant correlation with the ex vivo S/V (r = 0.71) as well as the in vivo S/V (r = 0.56). CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that DTI at multiple diffusion times with the random permeable model analysis allows for noninvasively quantifying muscle fiber microstructural changes during both normal muscle growth and disease progression. Future studies can apply our technique to evaluate current and potential treatments to muscle myopathies.