Browsing by Author "Phinikaridou A."

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    Sex differences in the relationship between body composition and MASLD progression in a murine model of metabolic syndrome
    (Elsevier Inc., 2025) Manjarrés Madrid, Laura; Xavier, Aline; Gonzalez Jara, Leticia Andrea; Garrido Ahumada, Camila Florencia; Zacconi Flavia, Cristina Milagro; Rivera K.; Parra L.; Phinikaridou A.; Besa Correa, Cecilia; Andía Kohnenkampf, Marcelo Edgardo
    Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) progression exhibits significant sex differences, with males generally developing more severe disease. This study used an endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout (eNOS KO) murine model to investigate sex-specific MASLD progression under a Western diet intervention. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) assessed body composition and liver and skeletal muscle fat fraction, revealing greater visceral fat, liver volume, and liver-to-muscle fat ratios in males. Dimensionality reduction and clustering analyses identified distinct sex-specific MASLD phenotypes and progression patterns. Histological evaluations confirmed greater liver damage in males, evidenced by higher MAFLD Activity Scores. These findings highlight the critical role of sex as a biological variable in MASLD pathology and emphasize the influence of body composition and fat distribution on disease progression. The study underscores the utility of advanced imaging and analytical techniques for refining non-invasive diagnostics and guiding sex-specific interventions, paving the way for personalized MASLD management strategies.
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    Simultaneous liver T1, T2, and ADC MR fingerprinting using optimized motion-compensated diffusion preparations: An initial validation on volunteers
    (Cambridge University Press, 2025) Velasco, Carlos; Castillo Passi, Carlos; Chaher, N.; Karampinos, D.C.; Irarrázaval Mena, Pablo; Phinikaridou A.; Botnar, René Michael; Prieto Vásquez, Claudia
    Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.Purpose: To develop a novel MR fingerprinting sequence using optimized motion-compensated diffusion preparations for simultaneous T1, T2, and ADC quantification of liver tissue in a single breath-held scan. Methods: A radial spoiled gradient echo acquisition with magnetization preparation modules for T1, T2, and ADC encoding is proposed. To compensate for the signal voids generated by the diffusion preparation, the combination of (1) a breath-held scan, (2) peripheral pulse signal triggering, and (3) an optimized motion-compensated diffusion-preparation module is employed. Phantom experiments were performed to test the accuracy of the technique. The sequence was evaluated in 11 healthy subjects in comparison to conventional mapping techniques. Additional in vivo repeatability assessment experiments were performed. Results: T1, T2, and ADC quantification showed good correlation (r2 > 0.9 for all cases) with reference maps in phantoms and good agreement in vivo against clinical scans (bias not significantly different from zero). A peripheral pulse trigger delay of 200 ms was used to reduce cardiovascular motion artifacts. The repeatability tests prove a low interscan coefficient of variation and a high intraclass correlation coefficient of greater than 0.9 for all cases. Conclusions: Simultaneous quantification of T1, T2, and ADC in liver tissue in a single MR fingerprinting scan of ˜16 s has been proposed, enabling a comprehensive evaluation of hepatic disease through co-registered multiparametric imaging. Further studies are warranted to test this approach in patients with suspected diffuse liver disease to evaluate its potential for liver tissue characterization and tumor staging.