In vivo MRI quantification of individual muscle and organ volumes for assessment of anabolic steroid growth effects

This study aimed to develop a quantitative and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach to investigate the muscle growth effects of anabolic steroids. A protocol of MRI acquisition on a standard clinical 1.5 T scanner and quantitative image analysis was established and employed to measure the individual muscle and organ volumes in the intact and castrated guinea pigs undergoing a 16-week treatment protocol by two well-documented anabolic steroids, testosterone and nandrolone, via implanted silastic capsules. High correlations between the in vivo MRI and postmortem dissection measurements were observed for shoulder muscle complex (R = 0.86), masseter (R = 0.79), temporalis (R = 0.95), neck muscle complex (R = 0.58), prostate gland and seminal vesicles (R = 0.98), and testis (R = 0.96). Furthermore, the longitudinal MRI measurements yielded adequate sensitivity to detect the restoration of growth to or towards normal in castrated guinea pigs by replacing circulating steroid levels to physiological or slightly higher levels, as expected. These results demonstrated that quantitative MRI using a standard clinical scanner provides accurate and sensitive measurement of individual muscles and organs, and this in vivo MRI protocol in conjunction with the castrated guinea pig model constitutes an effective platform to investigate the longitudinal and cross-sectional growth effects of other potential anabolic steroids. The quantitative MRI protocol developed can also be readily adapted for human studies on most clinical MRI scanner to investigate the anabolic steroid growth effects, or monitor the changes in individual muscle and organ volume and geometry following injury, strength training, neuromuscular disorders, and pharmacological or surgical interventions.