Fig. 2.

Examples of pre- and postprandial hepatic MR elastography (MRE) results. This figure shows pre- and postprandial hepatic MRE results in healthy volunteer and three patients with biopsy-proven stage F0, F3, and F4 hepatic fibrosis. As shown in top row, pre- and postprandial elastograms are similar in healthy volunteer. It is obvious that liver stiffness does not change substantially after food intake in this control subject. In three patients with hepatic fibrosis, mean hepatic stiffness is noticeably elevated. For instance, F0 patient has normal liver stiffness (< 2.9 kPa) in fasting state. Thirty minutes after food intake, mean liver stiffness has been elevated to abnormal level of 3.1 kPa. For other two patients with more severe fibrosis, preprandial liver stiffness estimates are already elevated. After meal, postprandial liver stiffness increased by 15% and 48% for patients with F3 and F4 fibrosis, respectively.