Assessment of liver fibrosis in rats by MRI with apparent diffusion coefficient and T1 relaxation time in the rotating frame. Issue 5 (26th October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hu, Genwen; Zhang, Xuhui; Liang, Wen; Zhong, Xing; Chan, Queenie; Lin, Xiaoying; Lin, Ting; Li, Yufa; Quan, Xianyue
• Is Part Of: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging. Volume 43:Issue 5(2016)
• Page Start: 1082
• Page End: 1089
• Publication Date: 2015-10-26
• Subjects: liver fibrosis -- carbon tetrachloride -- apparent diffusion coefficient -- T1rho -- magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging -- Periodicals; 616
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.25084
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1053-1807

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: To explore the value of T 1 relaxation times in the rotating frame ( T 1 ρ or T 1 rho) for evaluating liver fibrosis stage, compared to apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs). Materials and Methods: Liver fibrosis in model rats ( n = 50) was produced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ) injection. Five rats died during the experiment. Surviving model rats ( n = 45) and controls ( n = 15) were subjected to 3.0T MRI and the ADCs (b‐values: 0, 800 s/mm 2 ) and T 1 ρ values were determined. Liver fibrosis stage (F0–F4) was defined based on METAVIR scoring. Nonparametric statistical methods and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were employed to determine diagnostic accuracy. Results: Mean ADC and T 1 ρ associated negatively ( r = −0.732 P < 0.001) and positively ( r = 0.863 P < 0.001), respectively, with severity of fibrosis stage. Analysis of ROC curves for fibrosis staging showed that the area under the curve (AUC) for T 1 ρ (stage F0 vs. F1–F4 = 0.976, stage F0–F1 vs. F2–F4 = 0.920, stage F0–F2 vs. F3–F4 = 0.938, and stage F0–F3 vs. F4 = 0.931) was larger than that for ADCs (0.917, 0.924, 0.842, and 0.781, respectively). Conclusion: ADC and T 1 ρ values correlate with liver fibrosis stage. The performance of the T 1 ρ parameter was superior to that of the ADC parameter in the differentiation of liver fibrosis stages in a CCl4 rat model. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016;43:1082–1089.