SPIO-enhanced MR imaging of focal fatty liver lesions

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the features of focal fatty liver lesions with superparamagnetic iron oxides (SPIO) on magnetic resonance (MR) images. Methods: We retrospectively studied five patients with six histologically proven focal fatty liver lesions who had been examined by MR with use of SPIO. The features of the focal fatty liver lesions on two T2-weighted post–SPIO-enhanced MR images, T2*-weighted fast low-angle shot (FLASH) sequences, and T2-weighted turbo-spin echo (TSE) sequences were analyzed, and the percentages of signal intensity loss of the lesions and normal liver parenchyma were calculated. Results: All the fatty liver lesions exhibited different degrees of SPIO uptake, which were presented by a distinct loss of signal intensity on both post–SPIO-enhanced T2-weighted sequences. The percentage of signal intensity loss of the lesions on SPIO-enhanced images was higher than that of normal liver parenchyma in all the cases. Conclusion: Focal fatty liver lesions exhibit a high uptake of SPIO. The uptake is higher than that of the normal liver.