New paper released from the University of Nottingham on quantitative T1 mapping in liver disease

Recent work from Christopher Bradley and colleagues at Nottingham University demonstrates the feasibility of a quantitative T1 biomarker to accurately evaluate changes in cirrhosis and predict liver-related clinical outcomes.

In this 107 person population study, consisting of patients with compensated cirrhosis, decompensated cirrhosis, and healthy volunteers, T1 was found to be significantly higher in compensated cirrhosis and decompensated cirrhosis compared to healthy livers. The second crucial conclusion of this study was that elevated T1 values correspond to the likelihood of a liver-related clinical outcome (like the development of hepatocellular carcinoma).

This study did not use a corrected T1 measure to account for the presence of iron in the liver, and therefore may underestimate the true extent of the T1 increase in this cirrhotic population. This study adds to the growing body of scientific literature demonstrating the ability of non-invasive T1 biomarkers to not only stage liver disease but also predict the likelihood of severe clinical outcomes.

Read the full article here.