Abstract #2233

Larsson A, Melgar S, Rehnstrm E, Svensson L, Michaelsson E, Hockings P, Olsson L

A large body of studies show that MRI is valuable in monitoring patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The present study aimed at investigating if colon wall thickness, measured in vivo with MRI, can reflect inflammation in chemically induced mouse colitis. Our results demonstrate that colon wall thickness correlated positively with inflammation scores assessed ex vivo, and to serum haptoglobin levels, a systemic inflammatory marker. Hence, colon wall thickness may be a useful biomarker in evaluation of putative drugs. However, future studies are needed to examine if colon wall thickness may serve as a biomarker that can respond to pharmacological treatment.