Regenerating nodules in cirrhotic liver

To determine the pathologic background of low-intensity nodules (LINS) that were often observed on MR images of patients with liver cirrhosis, spin-echo and gradient-echo images obtained at 1.5 T were investigated in 20 cirrhotic patients. LINS were demonstrated in eight patients, in whom hemosiderin deposits in regenerating nodules were revealed microscopically. This result suggests that regenerating nodules with hemosiderin might be demonstrated as LINS and that the gradient-echo technique should be suitable for detecting LINS because of its high sensitivity for magnetic susceptibility due to ferromagnetic hemosiderin deposits