Anna Louise Babin1, Catherine Cannet1,
Christelle Gerard1, Clive P. Page2, Nicolau Beckmann1
1Global Imaging Group, Novartis
Institutes for BioMedical Research,
Experimental
studies of lung fibrosis in animals have usually examined the effects of
treatments starting before or at the time of lung injury. However, treatment
in humans only begins after disease has been established. Since timing of
treatment initiation is critical in this chronic model, we used MRI to assess
non-invasively the effects of steroids (budesonide and dexamethasone) in the
lungs of bleomycin (BLM) treated rats. MRI relying on non-ionizing radiation
opens new avenues in testing compounds in vivo as the responses at several
time points during the course of treatment can be easily compared.
Keywords