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Background: Lipedema and Dercum's disease (DD) are incompletely characterized adipose tissue diseases, and objective measures of disease profiles are needed to aid in differential diagnosis. We hypothesized that fluid properties, quantified as tissue water bioimpedance in the upper and lower extremities, differ regionally between these conditions. Methods and Results: Women (cumulative n = 156) with lipedema (n = 110), DD (n = 25), or without an adipose disease matched for age and body mass index to early stage lipedema patients (i.e., controls n = 21) were enrolled. Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) was applied to measure impedance values in the arms and legs, indicative of extracellular water levels. Impedance values were recorded for each limb, as well as the leg-to-arm impedance ratio. Regression models were applied to evaluate hypothesized relationships between impedance and clinical indicators of disease (significance criteria: two-sided p < 0.05). Higher extracellular water was indicated (i) in the legs of patients with higher compared with lower stages of lipedema (p = 0.03), (ii) in the leg-to-arm impedance ratio in patients with lipedema compared with patients with DD (p ≤ 0.001), and (iii) in the leg-to-arm impedance ratio in patients with stage 1 lipedema compared with controls (p ≤ 0.01). Conclusion: BIS is a noninvasive portable modality to assess tissue water, and this device is available in both specialized and nonspecialized centers. These findings support that regional bioimpedance measures may help to distinguish lipedema from DD, as well as to identify early stages of lipedema.

Background: Lipedema and Dercum's disease (DD) are incompletely characterized adipose tissue diseases, and objective measures of disease profiles are needed to aid in differential diagnosis. We hypothesized that fluid properties, quantified as tissue water bioimpedance in the upper and lower extremities, differ regionally between these conditions. Methods and Results: Women (cumulative n = 156) with lipedema (n = 110), DD (n = 25), or without an adipose disease matched for age and body mass index to early stage lipedema patients (i.e., controls n = 21) were enrolled. Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) was applied to measure impedance values in the arms and legs, indicative of extracellular water levels. Impedance values were recorded for each limb, as well as the leg-to-arm impedance ratio. Regression models were applied to evaluate hypothesized relationships between impedance and clinical indicators of disease (significance criteria: two-sided p < 0.05). Higher extracellular water was indicated (i) in the legs of patients with higher compared with lower stages of lipedema (p = 0.03), (ii) in the leg-to-arm impedance ratio in patients with lipedema compared with patients with DD (p ≤ 0.001), and (iii) in the leg-to-arm impedance ratio in patients with stage 1 lipedema compared with controls (p ≤ 0.01). Conclusion: BIS is a noninvasive portable modality to assess tissue water, and this device is available in both specialized and nonspecialized centers. These findings support that regional bioimpedance measures may help to distinguish lipedema from DD, as well as to identify early stages of lipedema.

The purpose of this work was to quantify 3.0 T (i) T(1) and T(2) relaxation times of in vivo human lymph nodes (LNs) and (ii) LN relaxometry differences between healthy LNs and LNs from patients with lymphatic insufficiency secondary to breast cancer treatment-related lymphedema (BCRL). MR relaxometry was performed over bilateral axillary regions at 3.0 T in healthy female controls (105 LNs from 20 participants) and patients with BCRL (108 LNs from 20 participants). Quantitative T(1) maps were calculated using a multi-flip-angle (20, 40, 60°) method with B(1) correction (dual-T(R) method, T(R1) /T(R2)  = 30/130 ms), and T(2) maps using a multi-echo (T(E)  = 9-189 ms; 12 ms intervals) method. T(1) and T(2) were quantified in the LN cortex and hilum. A Mann-Whitney U-test was applied to compare LN relaxometry values between patients and controls (significance, two sided, p < 0.05). Linear regression was applied to evaluate how LN relaxometry varied with age, BMI, and clinical indicators of disease. LN substructure relaxation times (mean ± standard deviation) in healthy controls were T(1) cortex, 1435 ± 391 ms; T(1) hilum, 714 ± 123 ms; T(2) cortex, 102 ± 12 ms, and T(2) hilum, 119 ± 21 ms. T(1) of the LN cortex was significantly reduced in the contralateral axilla of BCRL patients compared with the axilla on the surgical side (p < 0.001) and compared with bilateral control values (p < 0.01). The LN cortex T(1) asymmetry discriminated cases from controls (p = 0.004) in a multiple linear regression, accounting for age and BMI. Human 3.0 T T(1) and T(2) relaxation times in axillary LNs were quantified for the first time in vivo. Measured values are relevant for optimizing acquisition parameters in anatomical lymphatic imaging sequences, and can serve as a reference for novel functional and molecular LN imaging methods that require quantitative knowledge of LN relaxation times.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that tissue sodium and adipose content are elevated in patients with lipedema; if confirmed, this could establish precedence for tissue sodium and adipose content representing a discriminatory biomarker for lipedema. METHODS: Participants with lipedema (n = 10) and control (n = 11) volunteers matched for biological sex, age, BMI, and calf circumference were scanned with 3.0-T sodium and conventional proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Standardized tissue sodium content was quantified in the calf skin, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and muscle. Dixon MRI was employed to quantify tissue fat and water volumes of the calf. Nonparametric statistical tests were applied to compare regional sodium content and fat-to-water volume between groups (significance: two-sided P ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: Skin (P = 0.01) and SAT (P = 0.04) sodium content were elevated in lipedema (skin: 14.9 ± 2.9 mmol/L; SAT: 11.9 ± 3.1 mmol/L) relative to control participants (skin: 11.9 ± 2.0 mmol/L; SAT: 9.4 ± 1.6 mmol/L). Relative fat-to-water volume in the calf was elevated in lipedema (1.2 ± 0.48 ratio) relative to control participants (0.63 ± 0.26 ratio; P < 0.001). Skin sodium content was directly correlated with fat-to-water volume (Spearman's rho = 0.54; P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Internal metrics of tissue sodium and adipose content are elevated in patients with lipedema, potentially providing objective imaging-based biomarkers for differentially diagnosing the under-recognized condition of lipedema from obesity.