@article {Eichinger4659, author = {Monika Eichinger and Eva Fritzsching and Annette Kopp-Schneider and Migle Sumkauskaite and Daiva-Elzieta Optazaite and Marcus Mall and Michael Puderbach}, title = {Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a non-invasive, radiation-free imaging modality to study the onset and progression of lung disease in infants and young children with cystic fibrosis}, volume = {38}, number = {Suppl 55}, elocation-id = {4659}, year = {2011}, publisher = {European Respiratory Society}, abstract = {Little is known about the onset and spontaneous progression and routine lung function testing is not available for monitoring of early CF lung disease. The aim of the present study was to validate pulmonary MRI to study the onset and progression of lung disease in infants and young children with CF.In 34 CF patients (age: 2.5{\textpm}0.4; 17f, 17m) MRI (1.5T) was performed in free breathing. For morphological imaging a T2w-(HASTE PACE) and a T1w T1-TSE sequences pre and post contrast media in coronal and transversal orientation were used. Functional imaging was performed using a 3D-FLASH-sequence with a temporal resolution of 1.5s after iv injection of Gadolinium-DTPA. Two independent radiologists analyzed the images with a dedicated MRI score (range 0-72).Morphological and functional abnormalities in the CF lung were detected by MRI in the first year of life (MRI score 6.3{\textpm}1.1; n=6) and the score increased significantly to 16.2{\textpm}1.7 (p\< 0.05; n=5) at the age of 4 years. Perfusion defects were reversible in follow up scans in a substantial number of patients. Further, MRI scores were reduced after antibiotic therapy for pulmonary exacerbations (pre treatment: 20.2{\textpm}7.7vs post treatment 13.0{\textpm}4.9; p\<0.05).Our study indicates that MRI of the lung is sensitive to detect abnormal morphology, function and response to therapy in early CF lung disease. These results suggest that MRI may be suitable for non-invasive diagnostic monitoring of disease severity and may serve as a novel endpoint for clinical trials in early CF lung disease. Supported by Mukoviszidose e.V.}, issn = {0903-1936}, URL = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/4659}, eprint = {https://erj.ersjournals.com/content}, journal = {European Respiratory Journal} }