Assessment of liver fibrosis in rats by MRI with apparent diffusion coefficient and T-1 relaxation time in the rotating frame

作者：Hu, Genwen; Zhang, Xuhui; Liang, Wen; Zhong, Xing; Chan, Queenie; Lin, Xiaoying; Lin, Ting; Li, Yufa; Quan, Xianyue^*

来源：Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2016, 43(5): 1082-1089.

DOI：10.1002/jmri.25084

• liver fibrosis
• carbon tetrachloride
• apparent diffusion coefficient
• T(1)rho
• magnetic resonance imaging

PurposeTo explore the value of T-1 relaxation times in the rotating frame (T-1 or T(1)rho) for evaluating liver fibrosis stage, compared to apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs).
Materials and MethodsLiver 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, 800s/mm(2)) and T-1 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.
ResultsMean ADC and T-1 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 (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).
ConclusionADC and T-1 values correlate with liver fibrosis stage. The performance of the T-1 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.

• 出版日期2016-5
• 单位南方医科大学; 暨南大学