УДК 576:577 ASSESSMENT OF HEPATIC PERFUSION AND DIFFUSION IN CCl4 TREATED RAT LIVER USING MAGNETIC RESONANSE IMAGING

The liver is one of the most important organs of detoxification in the body. Use of diffusion-weighted (DWI) and dynamic contrast enhanced (DCE) 1H MRI for the assessment of hepatic perfusion and diffusion parameters were evaluated in a CCl4-induced rat liver injury model. Acute liver injury was produced by a single gavage of mixture of CCl4 and corn coil. MRI experiments were performed before and 24 h after the CCl4 treatment. CCl4-induced liver injury caused decreases in both fast and slow apparent diffusion coefficient of water measured by DWI, as well as a decrease in contrast agent uptake measured by DCE 1H MRI. DWI should prove useful in assessment of liver damage in diffuse liver diseases without the need for a contrast agent.