Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of experimentally induced liver disease.

Experimental animal models of hepatitis, fatty liver, and hepatic iron overload were evaluated using a 3.5-kGauss nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging system. Increases in image intensity measurements and in T2 relaxation times equalled the sensitivity of histologic findings for the detection of early stages of hepatitis. A significant shift in T1 relaxation times characterized the early stages of hepatic necrosis. Liver triglyceride content correlated significantly with increases in NMR intensity measurements (p less than 0.01); however, changes in liver water content had a much greater influence on intensity, T1, and T2. Thus, it may be possible to distinguish hepatitis from benign fatty liver. Liver iron content correlated with decreases in NMR intensity measurements (p less than 0.001), and iron levels as low as 1.2 mg/g were detected. NMR may more specifically identify hepatocellular iron overload than do other techniques that do not distinguish hepatocellular from reticuloendothelial iron.