Magnetic resonance imaging in obesity version 1.0
Research type
Research Study
Full title
To investigate the effect of therapeutic interventions used in the treatment of obesity on organ and total body fat measured using MRI.
IRAS ID
232251
Contact name
Stuart Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
15 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The aim of this study is to develop robust, accurate and clinically usable imaging methods to measure organ and body fat in obesity, and then use these methods to investigate the effects of treatment on the body. Obesity is a major global economic and public health challenge. Currently, almost 30% of the global population is overweight or obese. Obesity can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus, osteoarthritis, abnormal fat levels in the blood, heart and liver disease.
Obesity and its related conditions account for up to 5% of all health care spending in the UK and this is expected to double by 2030. Following weight loss, significant improvement in these obesity-related illnesses has been reported. However, there is limited understanding of how these improvements happen and in particular, little dedicated work has been done using imaging in the obese population to look at the effects of treatment.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an imaging technique that allows assessment of fat concentration and volume without the use of ionising radiation. It is safe, non-invasive and well-tolerated by most patients.
There are several MRI imaging techniques that can be used for fat quantification. These include MR spectroscopy and Dixon methods with measurement of fat fraction. These techniques measure the fat in the body organs and also the fat in the abdomen and skin. Recent technical developments mean that the whole body can be scanned relatively quickly (typically 30-40 minutes).
The broad aims of this exploratory study are three-fold; 1) To monitor the effects of obesity treatments on fat content of individual organs (including bone and muscle) and total body fat using MRI 2) to investigate associations between patterns of organ fat content and patient clinical symptoms, genetics and metabolism before and after treatment 3) to develop, simplify and initially test the accuracy of MRI fat measurement techniques in obese people.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/SC/0177
Date of REC Opinion
12 Apr 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion