Three-D MRI predicts course of polycystic kidney disease

Volumetric MR scanning can track structural changes preceding the onset of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, according to a study by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Principal investigator Dr. Jared J. Grantham and colleagues enrolled 241 patients with autosomal dominant PKD and normal to mildly impaired kidney function. They used a 3D MRI technique to measure the patients' kidneys, their cysts, and the proportion of renal tissue occupied by the cysts (NEJM 2006;354[20]:2122-2130).

MRI data showed that cysts large and small grew almost simultaneously and at steady rates in both kidneys and regardless of patient age.