Age-related relaxo-volumetric quantitative magnetic resonance imaging of the major salivary glands

摘要

OBJECTIVE: To study age-related characteristics of T1 and T2 relaxation times and volume of the major salivary glands. METHODS: Thirty-five subjects (0.5-87 years old) with normal salivary glands were imaged with mixed turbo spin-echo pulse sequences at 1.5-T magnetic resonance units. Bilateral parotid, submandibular, and sublingual glands were segmented manually. Histograms for each salivary gland were generated and modeled with Gaussian functions for every parameter. RESULTS: Seventy parotid glands, 52 submandibular glands, and 50 sublingual glands were segmented and the histograms were analyzed. The parotid gland exhibited shorter-peak T1s and longer-peak T2s relative to the submandibular and sublingual glands. The peak T2s for all glands showed a minimum value between 2 and 4 years of age and increased monotonically thereafter. From birth to early adulthood, all glands increased in size logarithmically. CONCLUSION: Age-related relaxo-volumetric changes of the major salivary glands show clear T2 and volumetric age-related patterns for all glands.