Quantitative MRI study of skeletal muscle fat deposition in patients with type 2 diabetes

Motivation: Fat deposition in skeletal muscle plays a vital role in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) but it lacks assessment of muscle fat infiltration in various stages of progression. Goal(s): Quantitatively detect skeletal muscle fat content in T2DM patients with different courses and severity. Approach: We measured thigh and paravertebral muscle fat fraction (FF) in T2DM patients using the mDixon-quant sequence and analyzed its association with other ectopic fat and clinical markers. Results: The FF value of skeletal muscle in T2DM patients was significantly higher than in the healthy group and was correlated with visceral adipose tissue and the course of T2DM. Impact: Analyzing the variation in muscle fat deposition in diabetes may provide a more accurate assessment of insulin resistance, which can be utilized to guide clinical medication.