Single Breath-Hold 3-Dimensional Magnetic Resonance Elastography Depicts Liver Fibrosis and Inflammation in Obese Patients

OBJECTIVES

Three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) measures liver fibrosis and inflammation but requires several breath-holds that hamper clinical acceptance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical and clinical feasibility of a single breath-hold 3D MRE sequence as a means of measuring liver fibrosis and inflammation in obese patients.

METHODS

From November 2020 to December 2021, subjects were prospectively enrolled and divided into 2 groups. Group 1 included healthy volunteers (n = 10) who served as controls to compare the single breath-hold 3D MRE sequence with a multiple-breath-hold 3D MRE sequence. Group 2 included liver patients (n = 10) who served as participants to evaluate the clinical feasibility of the single breath-hold 3D MRE sequence in measuring liver fibrosis and inflammation. Controls and participants were scanned at 60 Hz mechanical excitation with the single breath-hold 3D MRE sequence to retrieve the magnitude of the complex-valued shear modulus (|G*| [kPa]), the shear wave speed (Cs [m/s]), and the loss modulus (G" [kPa]). The controls were also scanned with a multiple-breath-hold 3D MRE sequence for comparison, and the participants had histopathology (Ishak scores) for correlation with Cs and G".

RESULTS

For the 10 controls, 5 were female, and the mean age and body mass index were 33.1 ± 9.5 years and 23.0 ± 2.1 kg/m 2 , respectively. For the 10 participants, 8 were female, and the mean age and body mass index were 45.1 ± 16.5 years and 33.1 ± 4.0 kg/m 2 (obese range), respectively. All participants were suspected of having nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Bland-Altman analysis of the comparison in controls shows there are nonsignificant differences in |G*|, Cs, and G" below 6.5%, suggesting good consensus between the 2 sequences. For the participants, Cs and G" correlated significantly with Ishak fibrosis and inflammation grades, respectively ( ρ = 0.95, P < 0.001, and ρ = 0.84, P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

The single breath-hold 3D MRE sequence may be effective in measuring liver fibrosis and inflammation in obese patients.

Core and comprehensive health care services: 4. Economic issues

This article reviews the economic dimensions of the CMA's decision-making framework on core and comprehensive services. The framework was developed in a policy context characterized by three government objectives: reduction, reallocation and reassignment of health care resources. One economic-evaluation tool for the determination of core services is cost-effectiveness analysis. Some of the critical demand-side and supply-side considerations include the perceived value of medical services, the availability of private insurance and the supply of health care providers. The article concludes that shifting services to the private sector should not be viewed as a panacea for reducing the costs and improving the economic efficiency of the health care system, or for increasing patient access to, or the cost-effectiveness of high-quality care.

Protein Synthesis in Imbibed Seeds III. Kinetics of Amino Acid Incorporation Ribosome Activation, and Polysome Formation

The kinetics of development of protein-synthesizing capacity in the imbibing wheat embryo, were studied both in vivo and in vitro. During the first 30 minutes of imbibition protein-synthesizing capacity rises rapidly, lagging about 10 minutes behind water uptake. This rise in synthesizing capacity is accompanied by an increase in polysome content. As imbibition continues, both protein-synthesizing capacity and polysome content increase. With embryos from aged seed, the rate of protein synthesis is initially limited by another, presumably nonribosomal, reaction.