Mesenteric Adipose Tissue in Crohn’s Disease assessed by in vivo MR Elastography

Despite increasing evidence that the functional involvement and structural changes of mesenteric adipose tissue influence the course of Crohn's disease, its viscoelastic properties remain elusive. We demonstrate the feasibility of in vivo MR elastography of mesenteric adipose tissue and present preliminary reference values for Crohn's disease patients and healthy controls in this explorative study. Our preliminary results show an excellent diagnostic performance in detecting Crohn's disease by assessing the viscoelastic properties of mesenteric adipose tissue using histopathology of surgical specimens as reference. Our results motivate further studies for the biophysical characterization of mesenteric adipose tissue in inflammatory bowel disease.