Asthma Ventilation: Hyperpolarized Gas Imaging
- SAN FRANCISCO — New research suggests hyperpolarized xenon MRI could help evaluate how asthma patients respond to biologic treatments.
- Gabriel marina García Delgado,a research student at the University of Missouri,explained that while some severe asthmatics respond well to biologic treatments,others do not,leading to prolonged periods of...
- The study involved five responders and seven nonresponders to biologic treatments like mepolizumab, benralizumab, and dupilumab. Patients underwent hyperpolarized xenon MRI, bloodwork, questionnaires, and pulmonary function testing...
Assess how asthma patients respond swiftly to biologic treatments with hyperpolarized gas imaging. This innovative approach, detailed in a recent study presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference, utilizes hyperpolarized xenon MRI to pinpoint early indicators of treatment success or failure. Researchers discovered that hyperpolarized gas MRI offers a faster way to determine if a patient benefits from asthma treatment, which can lead to notable cost savings and improved patient outcomes. News directory 3 reports on the research highlighting ventilation defect percentage and cluster index changes,offering regional assessment insights which other tests can miss,such as fractional exhaled nitric oxide testing. Discover what’s next in personalized asthma management.
Hyperpolarized Xenon MRI Assesses Asthma Biologic Response
Updated June 05, 2025
SAN FRANCISCO — New research suggests hyperpolarized xenon MRI could help evaluate how asthma patients respond to
biologic treatments. The study, presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference, focused on
using this imaging technique to identify early indicators of treatment success or failure in
severe asthma cases.
Gabriel marina García Delgado,a research student at the University of Missouri,explained that while some
severe asthmatics respond well to biologic treatments,others do not,leading to prolonged periods of
ineffective treatment and increased costs. The goal of the study was to use hyperpolarized gas MRI to
quantitatively assess changes in ventilation defect percentage and cluster index, potentially offering a faster
way to determine if a patient is benefiting from a particular treatment for asthma.
129Xe MRI as a biomarker for asthmatics.”> Data were derived from Garcia Delgado GM, et al. Utilizing hyperpolarized 129Xe MRI as a biomarker for
asthmatics on biologic treatments. Presented at: American Thoracic Society International Conference; May
16-21, 2025; San francisco.
The study involved five responders and seven nonresponders to biologic treatments like mepolizumab,
benralizumab, and dupilumab. Patients underwent hyperpolarized xenon MRI, bloodwork, questionnaires, and
pulmonary function testing at the start of the study, and again at 4 and 12 weeks after beginning treatment.
Images were taken before and after bronchodilation during each visit.
García Delgado described the MRI process: patients inhale the hyperpolarized gas, hold their breath for about 16
seconds, and then imaging is performed, followed by post-processing analysis. Researchers then classified
patients as responders or nonresponders after 12 weeks.
Such as, one responsive patient saw their ventilation defect percentage (VDP) decrease from 23.72% at
baseline to 11.25% at week 12. In contrast, a nonresponsive patient’s VDP increased from 15.56% at baseline to
19.85% at week 12. García Delgado noted that visual assessments of the images aligned with these quantitative
results.
García Delgado saeid:
“Their defects are actually going away. It means they’re ventilating better.”
she also stated:
“When we look at her images, we can also see that they really didn’t respond much.”
While visual assessment showed trends in VDP changes, the increase in mean pre-bronchodilation VDP from 11.6%
at baseline to 12.2% at 12 weeks was significant (P =.03). The change in mean cluster index from 4 weeks
(15.3%) to 12 weeks (16.9%) was also significant (P = .03), García delgado reported.
according to García Delgado, traditional pulmonary function tests (PFTs) may not provide the same level of
detailed information as hyperpolarized gas MRI, which offers a more regional assessment of improvement. She also
pointed out that PFT results can be affected by patient cooperation, and that other tests, like fractional
exhaled nitric oxide testing and the Asthma Control Questionnaire, may not be as informative.
What’s next
The researchers are continuing to recruit patients with severe asthma for their ongoing study, aiming to refine
the use of hyperpolarized xenon MRI as a tool for personalized medicine in asthma management.