Can dynamic gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI combined with water specific T1 mapping predict the early-stage of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in rat?

The early detection of the inflammation and fibrosis grade are important to Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients. Gadoxetic acid with MRI T1 quantitation is one of promising noninvasive method. However, intracellular hepatocyte lipid is a confounding factor for the accurate T1 quantitation in NASH case. Here, we used a water specific T1 (wT1) mapping with dynamic gadoxetic acid enhanced MRI in a rat NASH model induced by MCD diet. The results demonstrated that gadoxetic acid was not helpful to differentiate the inflammation and fibrosis severity in the early stage of NASH in rats.