Abstract #4090

MR Elastography for the Early Detection of Steatohepatitis in the Rat with Fatty Liver

Najat Salameh¹, Benot Larrat², Jorge Abarca-Quinones¹, Stphane Pallu¹, Mylne Dorvillius¹, Isabelle Leclercq³, Mathias Fink², Ralph Sinkus², Bernard E. Van Beers¹

¹Radiodiagnostic Unit, Universit Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; ²Laboratoire Ondes et Acoustique, Ecole Suprieure de Physique et Chimie Industrielles, Paris, France; ³Gastroenterology Unit, Universit Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium

The early and non-invasive detection of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis in the fatty liver is difficult. The aim of our study in the rat was to assess the potential value of MR elastography for this non-invasive detection. Our results in the rat suggest that in non-alcoholic fatty liver, MR elastography may be useful for the early detection of steatohepatitis by showing increased elasticity appearing before fibrosis development and linked to myofibroblast activation.