MR imaging of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

This paper assess abdominal MR findings in paroxysmal noctural hemoglobinuria (PNH). T1-weighted (TR = 420 msec, TE = 15 msec), T2-weighted (TR = 2,000 msec, TE = 45,90 msec), and gradient-echo fast low-angle shot (TR = 30 msec, TE = 10 msec, flip angle = 30 degrees) sequences were performed with a 1.5-T magnet in six patients with clinically suspected abdominal complications of PNH. Upper-abdominal MR images were analyzed by two radiologists. In view of the renal cortex signal abnormalities observed in PNH, five patients with other causes of chronic hemolysis (severe sickle cell anemia in four and idiopathic in one) were used as a control group