title: Detecting fibrosis without a liver biopsy: getting to the fat of the issue.
abstract: It is critical to assess the degree of liver fibrosis for clinical management. However, liver biopsy has many drawbacks and is invasive. Promising non-invasive methods including serum markers and new imaging studies to predict liver fibrosis have been developed in past decades. This editorial provides a succinct overview and update of the new non-invasive technologies, especially the three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3-D MRI) that has been studied by Dr. Kawamura's group in Japan. It also highlights the merit and weakness of this 3D-MRI technology in predicting liver fibrosis and indicates future studies to understand where 3D-MRI fits into the current armamentarium of non-invasive serum-based and imaging technologies.
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology Research Unit and Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First ST SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
authors.forename: Sudhakar K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Venkatesh
authors.affiliation: Gastroenterology Research Unit and Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First ST SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. Shah.vijay@mayo.edu.
authors.forename: Vijay H
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: Shah
keywords: Liver fibrosis; MRI; NAFLD; Noninvasive; Serum marker