Techniques: Magnetic resonance imaging of the lung provides potential for non-invasive preclinical evaluation of drugs

Over the past several years, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become an established tool in the drug discovery and development process. The main advantages of MRI are its high resolution, non-invasiveness and versatility, which allow comprehensive characterization of a disease state and the effects of drug intervention. Recent advances now allow the application of this technique to the characterization of models of lung inflammation in rats and to the profiling of anti-inflammatory drugs. Repeated measurements can be carried out on the same animal, and time-courses of events can be easily assessed. Furthermore, the prospect of using MRI to detect non-invasively a sustained mucus hypersecretory phenotype induced by endotoxin brings an important new perspective to models of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in animals. Importantly, it might be possible to extend the use of this technique to the clinical study of inflammation in the lung and the consequences of drug treatment.