PURPOSE: We investigated the feasibility of diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the early detection of ischemia in the testis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Circulation to the right testis in Wistar rats was occluded by surgical ligation of the right funicle. The left side was sham operated and served as a control. The diffusion and T2-weighted MRI images of the 2 testes was performed postoperatively by a 1.5 Tesla MRI unit using a knee coil. On apparent diffusion coefficient images and T2-weighted images the region of interest values in the 2 testes were measured and statistically compared. RESULTS: At 1 hour after testicular funicle ligation the apparent diffusion coefficient was 18% lower in the ischemic than in the sham operated testis (p <0.0098). At 2 hours the difference was 20% (p <0.0017). In the signal-to-noise ratio on T2-weighted images there was no difference in the left and right testes. CONCLUSIONS: Altered diffusion occurs in an ischemic testis, which can be measured on MRI at 1.5 Tesla. Thus, diffusion-weighted MRI may be a helpful method for the differential diagnosis of acute testicular torsion.
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Kangasniemi et al. (2001) studied this question.
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