MR Imaging of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

描述（由申请人提供）： 该提案的目的是完善磁共振（MR）成像和光谱学，为非酒精性脂肪肝（NAFLD）患者提供全面的非侵入性评估。 具体目标是实施和开发MR方法，以定性和定量评估肝脏：（1）脂肪，（2）纤维化和（3）炎症。 狄克逊变体成像和光谱将用于评估脂肪。将使用联合对比增强以及弥散加权和灌注成像获得的图像的形态学和纹理分析来评估纤维化。这些技术的组合将用于评估炎症。 从肝活检获得的定性和定量病理学将用作参考标准。将在儿童和成人中进行前瞻性单中心横断面和纵向临床研究。具体的成像和光谱特征将与组织学、生化和临床结果相关联。 拟议的研究是非酒精性脂肪性肝炎临床研究网络的辅助研究，该网络是RFA确定的肥胖相关临床试验之一，本提案对此做出了回应。拟议的研究将完全整合到加州圣地亚哥大学（UCSD）的研究网络网站。UCSD是网络中的八个临床中心之一。 诊断和监测NAFLD的现有临床金标准是活检。这与小但确定的风险有关，并且仅对肝脏的小且可能不具有代表性的区域进行采样。 由于肥胖的患病率增加，以及NAFLD进展为脂肪性肝炎、肝硬化和肝细胞癌的风险增加，因此对准确的非侵入性诊断的需求正在增加。 公共卫生声明。NAFLD是美国肝脏疾病的重要原因，变得越来越常见，影响儿童和成人。开发一种安全准确的方法来诊断和跟踪这种疾病可能会导致早期诊断和更有效的治疗。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The purpose of this proposal is to refine magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and spectroscopy to provide a comprehensive non-invasive assessment of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The specific aims are to implement and develop MR methods to qualitatively and quantitatively assess liver: (1) fat, (2) fibrosis, and (3) inflammation. Dixon variant imaging and spectroscopy will be used to assess fat. Morphological and textural analysis of images obtained with combined contrast enhancement, as well as diffusion weighted and perfusion imaging will be used to assess fibrosis. A combination of these techniques will be used to assess inflammation. Both qualitative and quantitative pathology obtained from liver biopsies will be used as the reference standard. Prospective single-center cross-sectional and longitudinal clinical studies will be performed in children and adults. Specific imaging and spectroscopic features will be correlation by histological, biochemical, and clinical findings. The proposed study is ancillary to the Non-Alcoholic Steahohepatitis Clinical Research Network, one of the obesity-related clinical trials identified by the RFA to which this proposal responds. The proposed study will be fully integrated into the University of California San Diego (UCSD) site of the Research Netowrk. UCSD is one of eight Clinical Centers in the Network. The existing clinical gold standard for diagnosis and monitoring NAFLD is biopsy. This is associated with small but definite risks and samples only a small and possibly unrepresentative region of the liver. Because of the increasing prevalence of obesity, and the risk of progression of NAFLD to steatohepatltis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma, the need for accurate non-invasive diagnosis is increasing. Public health statement. NAFLD is an important cause of liver disease in the United States, is becoming more and more common and affects children and adults. Developing a safe and accurate method to diagnose and follow this disease may lead to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment.