Hepatic triglyceride content and its relation to body adiposity: a magnetic resonance imaging and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

• Published in: Gut Vol. 54; no. 1; pp. 122 - 127
• Main Authors: Thomas, E L, Hamilton, G, Patel, N, O’Dwyer, R, Doré, C J, Goldin, R D, Bell, J D, Taylor-Robinson, S D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Society of Gastroenterology 01.01.2005; BMJ; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; Copyright 2005 by Gut
• Subjects: 1H MRS; Abdomen - pathology; adipose tissue; Adipose Tissue - pathology; Adult; Aged; alanine aminotransferase; alkaline phosphatase; ALP; ALT; Anthropometry; Biological and medical sciences; BMI; body mass index; coefficient of variation; computerised tomography; CoV; echo time; fatty liver; Fatty Liver - etiology; Fatty Liver - metabolism; Fatty Liver - pathology; Female; Gastroenterology. Liver. Pancreas. Abdomen; geometric mean; Humans; IHCL; IMCL; Insulin resistance; interquartile range; intrahepatocellular lipids; intramyocellular lipids; IQR; LFTs; Lipids - analysis; Liver; Liver - chemistry; Liver - pathology; liver function tests; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Metabolic disorders; Middle Aged; MRI; Muscle, Skeletal - chemistry; NASH; NMR; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Obesity; Obesity - complications; Obesity - metabolism; Obesity - pathology; proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy; repetition time; spectroscopy; steatosis; Triglycerides - analysis; γ glutamyl transferase; γGT; Endocrinopathy; Type 2 diabetes; Adipose tissue; Liver; Volunteer; Lipids; NMR spectrometry; Accumulation; Overweight; Body mass index; Lean body mass; Proton; Whole body; Nutritional status; Human; Obesity; Digestive system; Nutrition disorder; Metabolic diseases; Normal; Triglyceride; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Steatosis; Biopsy; Distribution; Non invasive method; Medical imagery; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0017-5749; 1468-3288; 1458-3288
• DOI: 10.1136/gut.2003.036566

Background: Hepatic steatosis is associated with obesity and type II diabetes. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) is a non-invasive method for measurement of tissue fat content, including intrahepatocellular lipids (IHCL) and intramyocellular lipids (IMCL). Patients and methods: We used 1H MRS and whole body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the relationship between IHCL accumulation, total body adipose tissue (AT) content/distribution, and IMCL content in 11 subjects with biopsy proven hepatic steatosis and 23 normal volunteers. Results: IHCL signals were detectable in all subjects but were significantly greater in hepatic steatosis (geometric mean (GM) 11.5 (interquartile range (IQR) 7.0–39.0)) than in normal volunteers (GM 2.7 (IQR 0.7–9.3); p = 0.02). In the study group as a whole, IHCL levels were significantly greater in overweight compared with lean subjects (body mass index (BMI) >25 kg/m2 (n = 23): GM 7.7 (IQR 4.0–28.6) v BMI <25 kg/m2 (n = 11): GM 1.3 (IQR 0.3–3.6; p = 0.004)). There was a significant association between IHCL content and indices of overall obesity (expressed as a percentage of body weight) for total body fat (p = 0.001), total subcutaneous AT (p = 0.007), and central obesity (subcutaneous abdominal AT (p = 0.001) and intra-abdominal AT (p = 0.001)), after allowing for sex and age. No correlation between IHCL content and IMCL was observed. A significant correlation was observed between serum alanine aminotransferase and liver fat content (r = 0.57, p = 0.006). Conclusions: Our results suggest that hepatic steatosis appears to be closely related to body adiposity, especially central obesity. MRS may be a useful method for monitoring IHCL in future interventional studies.