Multiparametric MRI and MRE was performed in 27 obese patients who had biopsies of liver and subcutaneous adipose tissues. We found significant correlations between the mechanical properties of liver and subcutaneous fat and their histological and biochemistry results. A model combining liver proton density fat fraction and subcutaneous fat stiffness had a slightly higher AUC for diagnosing nonalcoholic steatohepatitis than liver stiffness (AUC: 0.87 vs. 0.84, p=0.74). The results indicate that obesity-induced systemic inflammation affects both adipose and liver tissue mechanical properties and, therefore, models utilizing mechanical biomarkers from adipose tissue may improve the diagnosis of steatohepatitis in obese patients.
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