An experimental study on the assessment of rabbit hepatic fibrosis by using magnetic resonance T1ρ imaging.

Objective: To explore the correlation between the T1ρ values of liver and liver fibrosis by using magnetic resonance (MR) T1ρ imaging.

Materials And Methods: The study consisted of the control group and the hepatic fibrosis (HF) group. Carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) injection was performed once a week for 10 weeks (week 1-10) in the HF group which was divided into 5 subgroups and underwent MR examinations at weeks 4, 5, 6, 10, and 15 respectively post the first CCl4 injection (week 1). According to Scheuer Classification, the stage of HF of all rabbits was classified as S0-S4. Mann-Whitney U test was performed to compare the T1ρ values, and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: The control group included 11 rabbits and the HF group included 46 rabbits. The T1ρ values in the HF group tended to increase with the increase of CCl4 injection duration or in higher HF stages. The T1ρ values were significantly lower (p=0.036) in the control group (or the stage S0 group) (23.5±4.0 ms) compared to the whole HF group (or S1-S4 group) (26.1±3.7 ms), and dropped at week 15 (p=0.043) after the CCl4 injection was stopped at week 10.

Conclusion: T1ρ imaging is closely associated with the severity of HF and may play an important role in the early diagnosis of HF.