Richard L. Ehman, MD Professor of Radiology Blanche R. & Richard J. Erlanger Professor of Medical Research Mayo Clinic President and CEO, Resoundant Inc. Adapted from article produced by Medpace, Inc.: https://www.medpace.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/QA-with-Imaging-Expert-Dr.-Richard-Ehman.pdf What are the specific biomarkers of liver disease that MRE is uniquely suited to provide for clinical trials in NASH? NASH is typically described in histologic terms: increased fat in hepatocytes, inflammatory activity, cellular injury, and development of fibrosis. Among these processes, fibrosis is most strongly associated with mortality. Currently, the most important biomarker provided by MRE is l
FACT SHEET Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a noninvasive imaging tool for the quantitative measurement of liver stiffness. MRE has a high accuracy for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis, independent of BMI or chronic liver disease etiology [1]. Several studies have characterized the diagnostic performance of MRE for the staging of liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease. These studies report a range of threshold values used for fibrosis staging (Table 1). For example, the following values are used at the Mayo Clinic [2]. <2.5 kPa = Normal 2.5 – 2.9 = Normal or Inflammation 2.9 – 3.5 = Stage 1-2 3.5 – 4.0 = Stage 2-3 4.0 – 5.0 = Stage 3-4 >5.0 kPa = Stage 4 Although liver biopsy is c
A pioneering European research project, designed to develop new diagnostic tests to assess patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) has expanded giving access to more patients. Although many people have NAFLD, less than one in 10 will come to harm as a result. The challenge is to identify those people that will be most severely affected so that appropriate care can be targeted to those that need it most. Incorporating several new partners also enables access to even more state-of-the art technologies. Liver Investigation: Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitis (LITMUS) funded by the European Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint undertaking, brings together clinical scien
