Paediatric brain tissue properties measured with magnetic resonance elastography

The aim of this study is to characterise the stiffness of white and grey matter in paediatric subjects using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and to determine whether these properties change throughout normal development. MRE was performed using a clinical 3T MRI scanner at three frequencies (30, 40 and 60 Hz) on 36 healthy paediatric subjects aged between 7 and 18 years (19 F) and 11 adults aged 23–44 years (6 F). Anatomical and diffusion tensor imaging was also collected. The stiffness quantified as the magnitude of the complex shear modulus (G*), fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD) and volume of white and grey matter were calculated. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s multiple comparison tests were used to compare data in age groups separated into children (7–12 years), adolescents (13–18 years) and adults (18+ years), and Spearman’s correlations were performed for paediatric data. White and grey matter stiffness for each frequency and their frequency dependence was found to be very similar in paediatric and adult subjects (p > 0.05 all variables). No significant correlations were found when comparing G* with age, FA, MD or volume. Adult G*, FA, MD and volume values were within range of others reported in the literature. Paediatric white and grey matter stiffness values are similar to those of adults. We conclude that clinically, adult values can be used as a baseline measure in paediatric brain MRE.