T1 and T2 alterations in the brains of patients with hepatic cirrhosis.

PURPOSE To determine whether previously reported T1-weighted MR hyperintensities in the brains of patients with hepatic cirrhosis are accompanied by changes in T2. METHODS We measured T1 and T2 in the brains of 10 patients with chronic liver disease and 7 age-matched healthy volunteers, using classic spin-echo sequences with multiple saturation recovery times and multiple echoes. RESULTS Both T1 and T2 were shortened in the basal ganglia, cortex, and white matter of the patients, with the greatest shortening in the globus pallidus, where 1/T1 was increased by 0.76 s-1 or 74% and 1/T2 by 1.45 s-1 or 11%. CONCLUSIONS The T1 changes were accompanied by T2 changes of greater magnitude that were not as visible because T2 is normally much shorter than T1, especially in the globus pallidus.