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Assessment of diffusion tensor MR imaging (DTI) in liver fibrosis with minimal confounding effect of hepatic steatosis
Author(s) -
Lee Yunjung,
Kim Hyeonjin
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.25253
Subject(s) - diffusion mri , steatosis , effective diffusion coefficient , fractional anisotropy , fibrosis , hepatic fibrosis , medicine , histopathology , gastroenterology , magnetic resonance imaging , chemistry , nuclear medicine , nuclear magnetic resonance , pathology , radiology , physics
Purpose Given the potential confounding effect of fat on apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the liver, we have assessed diffusion tensor imaging in liver fibrosis with minimal effect of fat on ADC and fractional anisotropy (FA). Methods Thirty‐six mice were used, among which 20 mice were CCl 4 treated for fibrosis induction. Diffusion tensor imaging was performed at 9.4T using a spin‐echo diffusion tensor imaging sequence with six gradient directions. Hepatic fat fraction obtained by MR spectroscopy was used as hepatic fat content. Fibrosis scores were obtained from histopathology. Results The hepatic fat fractions of the two animal groups were below 5.5% and not different (5.3 ± 1.5 vs. 4.6 ± 1.1%; P = 0.115). Fibrosis scores were higher in CCl 4 ‐treated mice (0.0 ± 0.0 vs. 2.1 ± 0.7; P < 0.001). Nonetheless, there was no difference in ADC between the two groups (0.711 ± 0.068 × 10 −3 vs. 0.718 ± 0.095 × 10 −3 mm 2 s −1 ; P = 0.911). The treated group had a lower FA than control (0.552 ± 0.050 vs. 0.586 ± 0.013; P = 0.023). ADC was not correlated with hepatic fat fraction and fibrosis. FA was correlated with hepatic fat fraction ( r = 0.418, P = 0.011) and fibrosis ( r = −0.411, P = 0.012). Conclusion FA may be more sensitive to mild‐to‐moderate liver fibrosis than ADC. In addition to ADC, FA may also be sensitive to hepatic fat content, and therefore need careful interpretation in liver fibrosis with concomitant fatty liver. Magn Reson Med 73:1602–1608, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.