T1ρ Relaxation of the liver: A potential biomarker of liver function

• Published in: Journal of magnetic resonance imaging 2015-07, Vol.42 (1), p.188-195
• Main Authors: Takayama, Yukihisa, Nishie, Akihiro, Asayama, Yoshiki, Ushijima, Yasuhiro, Okamoto, Daisuke, Fujita, Nobuhiro, Morita, Koichiro, Shirabe, Ken, Kotoh, Kazuhiro, Kubo, Yuichiro, Okuaki, Tomoyuki, Honda, Hiroshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; chronic liver disease; Feasibility Studies; Female; Hepatitis - pathology; Hepatitis - physiopathology; Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Liver Cirrhosis - pathology; Liver Cirrhosis - physiopathology; liver fibrosis; liver function; Liver Function Tests - methods; liver necroinflammation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Middle Aged; MRI; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; T1ρ (T1rho)
• ISSN: 1053-1807; 1522-2586
• DOI: 10.1002/jmri.24739

Purpose To investigate the diagnostic potential of T1ρ relaxation for assessing liver function, liver fibrosis, or liver necroinflammation in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD). Materials and Methods We obtained T1ρ maps of the liver for 53 patients with or without CLD. We measured the T1ρ values of the liver and correlated them with the results of laboratory tests and histological examinations. Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) were calculated between the T1ρ values and blood serum parameters including the retention rates at 15 minutes after an injection of indocyanine green (ICG‐R15). Spearman's rank correlation coefficients were calculated between the T1ρ values and the scores of liver fibrosis or liver necroinflammation. Results The T1ρ values showed significant positive correlations with the serum levels of total bilirubin (r = 0.31, P