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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2025 Jul 10:31:e947862.
doi: 10.12659/MSM.947862.

Quantitative Multi-Parameter MRI Evaluation of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Changes After Dietary Interventions

Ning Dai  1 , Qi-Hao Shi  1 , Long-Wei Zheng  1 , Xiao-Shan Huang  1   2 , Shu-Feng Fan  1   2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Quantitative Multi-Parameter MRI Evaluation of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Changes After Dietary Interventions

Ning Dai et al. Med Sci Monit. .

Abstract

BACKGROUND Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a common autoimmune disease. There are currently few studies utilizing multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate diffuse thyroid lesions such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This study aims to explore the value of multi-parametric MRI in assessing the progression of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study ultimately included 40 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis, who were randomly and evenly assigned to an intervention group and a control group. The intervention group received dietary management, while the control group received no intervention. Laboratory and imaging tests were conducted at baseline and 6 months later. RESULTS After dietary management, patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis showed a significant reduction in thyroid T2-weighted imaging relative signal intensity (T2WI RSI) (mean: 1.69±0.35 vs 1.42±0.24, P<0.05) and water fraction (mean: 94.57±1.76 vs 93.36±1.62, P<0.001). Additionally, thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) levels decreased significantly (TPOAb: 376.58±319.52 vs 273.55±287.63, P<0.05; TGAb: 219.06±572.54 vs 198.80±567.59, P<0.05). In contrast, no significant changes in thyroid water fraction, TPOAb, or TGAb levels were observed in the control group (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, multi-parametric MRI offers a valuable quantitative tool for assessing Hashimoto's thyroiditis, providing an intuitive and sensitive method to improve disease understanding and management.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Statistically significant differences (P<0.05) were observed in thyroid antibody levels thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb) (A), T2-weighted imaging relative signal intensity (T2WI RSI) (B), water fraction (C), and fat fraction (D) in the intervention group between baseline and after 6 months. This figure was generated using OriginPro 2024 (64-bit) SR1 software (OriginLab Corporation).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fat-only (A, B) and water-only (C, D) images were generated through computational analysis. Images A and C depict the thyroid before dietary management, while images B and D illustrate the thyroid after 6 months of dietary management. The images and associated data demonstrate that, in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, there was a reduction in thyroid water fraction (C, D), along with decreased inflammation, following 6 months of dietary management. Additionally, statistical results indicate an increase in thyroid fat fraction (A, B). This figure was edited using Adobe Photoshop 2022 (version 23.0.0; Adobe Systems Incorporated).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The figure above shows T2WI Dixon (A, B) and DWI (C, D) images from a representative patient. Images A and C demonstrate thyroid morphology prior to dietary intervention, while images B and D show the corresponding changes after 6 months of dietary management. All images were processed using Adobe Photoshop 2022 (version 23.0.0; Adobe Systems Incorporated).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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