Post by Anton Skafi on Apr 20, 2018 13:11:21 GMT 2
Question:
One of our patients on TPC asks if MRI T2* measures iron in the pancreas as it does the liver and the heart? Some have already answered that it does, yet I think a reply from a professional would be the best.
Answer:
So in theory pancreatic T2* can be measured but it is difficult and need a lot of expertise. Also the test is not validated/calibrated.
The main thing is to ask why to measure it?
The best way of detecting and managing early diabetes is oral glucose tolerance test. Also we should all measure faecal elastase to test for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
If the idea is to measure it to see how it can be used as a diagnostic/ prognostic tool for diabetes, it’s better to be done in a research setting.
Just to let you know that at UCLH we do not measure pancreatic T2* routinely
One of our patients on TPC asks if MRI T2* measures iron in the pancreas as it does the liver and the heart? Some have already answered that it does, yet I think a reply from a professional would be the best.
Answer:
So in theory pancreatic T2* can be measured but it is difficult and need a lot of expertise. Also the test is not validated/calibrated.
The main thing is to ask why to measure it?
The best way of detecting and managing early diabetes is oral glucose tolerance test. Also we should all measure faecal elastase to test for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency.
If the idea is to measure it to see how it can be used as a diagnostic/ prognostic tool for diabetes, it’s better to be done in a research setting.
Just to let you know that at UCLH we do not measure pancreatic T2* routinely