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Updated: Dec 20, 2025

Fluorescence-mediated Tomography for the Detection and Quantification of Macrophage-related Murine Intestinal Inflammation
Published on: December 15, 2017
Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Contrast Agents for Assessment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic
Yifan Luo1,2,3, Chen Gao1,2, Wujie Chen1,2
1The First Clinical Medical College of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China.
Background And Aims:
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has taken an important role in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In the wake of current advances in nanotechnology, the drug delivery industry has seen a surge of nanoparticles advertising high specificity in target imaging. Given the rapid development of the field, this review has assembled related articles to explore whether molecular contrast agents can improve the diagnostic capability on gastrointestinal imaging, especially for IBD.
Methods:
Relevant articles published between 1998 and 2018 from a literature search of PubMed and EMBASE were reviewed. Data extraction was performed on the studies' characteristics, experimental animals, modelling methods, nanoparticles type, magnetic resonance methods, and means of quantitative analysis.
Results:
A total of 8 studies were identified wherein the subjects were animals, and all studies employed MR equipment. One group utilized a perfluorocarbon solution and the other 7 groups used either magnetic nanoparticles or gadolinium- (Gd-) related nanoparticles for molecular contrast. With ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) particles and Gd-related nanoparticles, signal enhancements were found in the mucosa or with focal lesion of IBD-related model in T1-weighted images (T1WI), whereas superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) particles showed a signal decrease in the intestinal wall of the model in T1WI or T2-weighted images. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was employed to analyze bowel intensity in 3 studies. And the percentage of normalized enhancement was used in 1 study for assessing the severity of inflammation.
Conclusion:
Molecular MRI with contrast agents can improve the early diagnosis of IBD and quantitate the severity of inflammation in experimental studies.
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