Noninvasive Monitoring of CCl4 Induced Acute and Chronic Liver Damage in Rat by SQ and TQF 23Na MRI

Yong Gao¹, Judy James¹, Navin Bansal¹

Single-quantum (SQ) and triple-quantum-filtered (TQF) ²³Na MRI and shift-reagent- (SR-) aided ²³Na and ³¹P MRS were employed to monitor the progression of liver injury by CCl₄ intoxication of rats. Acute high-dose CCl₄ (2.5 ml/kg) caused increase in SQ and TQF ²³Na MRI signal intensity (SI) due to an increase in intracellular [Na⁺]. Chronic low-dose CCl₄ (0.5 ml/kg twice weekly for 8 weeks) caused an increase in SQ SI due to increased extracellular space, and an increase in TQF SI due to extracellular fibroses. ²³Na MRI may prove useful in diagnosis of liver diseases because of its sensitivity to liver injury.