title: The hepatocyte phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI in the evaluation of hepatic fibrosis and early liver cirrhosis in a rat model: an experimental study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the hepatocyte phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI in the early diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis and assessment of liver function in a rat model.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2 groups of SD rats, liver fibrosis was induced in experimental animals by repetitive carbon tetrachloride injections, while the control group received saline injections. Five experimental rats and 2 control rats were randomly selected at weeks 4, 8, 12. One week after carbon tetrachloride administration, MRI (FIRM T1WI) scan was performed. Gd-EOB-DTPA (0.08mL) was injected into the rat's tail vein and hepatocyte phase images were obtained after 20min. The pre-enhanced phase and hepatocyte phase signal intensities (SI) were measured, and the relative contrast enhancement index (RCEI) was calculated. ANOVA analysis (LSD) of RCEI values in controls (n=6), hepatic fibrosis (n=7), and histopathologically-determined early cirrhosis group (n=6) was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RECI values showed a decreasing trend in the control group, hepatic fibrosis and early cirrhosis groups (1.11±0.43, 0.96±0.22, and 0.57±0.33, respectively). While the difference between the control and early cirrhosis groups was statistically significant (p=0.013), there was no significant difference in the hepatic fibrosis group vs the control (p=0.416) and the hepatic fibrosis group vs the early cirrhosis group (p=0.054).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Hepatocyte phase RCEI values obtained with Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI scan indicate liver injury in hepatic fibrosis and early cirrhosis. RCEI values are helpful for early diagnosis of liver cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Chunmei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China. Electronic address: cjr.liuailian@vip.163.com.
authors.forename: Ailian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoling
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Qingwei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Heqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride / Q000633:toxicity; D003287:Contrast Media; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; C073590:gadolinium ethoxybenzyl DTPA; D002251:Carbon Tetrachloride; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA
keywords: Gd-EOB-DTPA; Image enhancement; Liver cirrhosis; Magnetic resonance imaging