LINKÖPING, Sweden, May 28, 2026 – AMRA Medical is contributing to the conversation as we speak, at the 2026 EASL Congress taking place May 27-30th in Barcelona, Spain! During this year’s congress, AMRA will present new findings exploring the impact of metabolic surgery on muscle composition in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). The poster presentation, titled “Impact of metabolic surgery on muscle composition in patients with MASLD: A longitudinal MRI study,” highlights how MRI-based measures can provide a more comprehensive understanding of treatment effects beyond weight loss.
Conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of California San Diego led by principal investigators Scott Reeder and Claude Sirlin, and with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, the longitudinal study assessed changes in muscle quantity and quality among adults with obesity undergoing metabolic and bariatric surgery. Using AMRA® Researcher, investigators quantified thigh muscle volume, muscle fat infiltration, intramuscular fat volume, and personalized muscle volume z-scores across five MRI visits spanning pre-surgery through one year post-operation.
The findings demonstrated that metabolic surgery was associated with improved muscle quality through reduced muscle fat infiltration in patients with both high and low liver fat. However, patients with high liver fat experienced greater reductions in muscle mass following surgery compared to those with lower liver fat. Notably, almost all muscle mass loss occurred within the first 12 weeks after surgery for both groups, and while muscle mass relative to body size (i.e., muscle volume z-score) recovered to pre-surgery levels by week 52 in the low liver fat group, it remained reduced in the high liver fat group.
These results further reinforce the importance of detailed muscle composition assessment in obesity and MASLD research, particularly as weight loss interventions continue to evolve. By combining our standardized MRI acquisition protocols with unique biomarkers, AMRA supports researchers and trial sponsors in generating high-quality, reproducible data across clinical studies and therapeutic areas.
As interest grows in understanding the broader metabolic effects of obesity treatments, AMRA continues to be at the forefront in developing more precise and clinically-relevant endpoints capable of capturing changes in muscle health, fat distribution, and treatment response beyond conventional measures such as body weight or BMI.
Are you attending the 2026 EASL Congress? We want to meet you! Make sure to stop by our poster to learn more about the impact of metabolic surgery on muscle composition in MASLD during the poster sessions in Hall 7, which run from 8:30-17:00 on May 29. You can also connect with the AMRA team onsite listed below, or reach out to info@amramedical.com to set up a time to learn about how we’re using MRI-based fat distribution and muscle composition technologies to accelerate clinical research programs in liver disease and beyond.
About AMRA Medical
AMRA Medical is a global leader in health informatics, pioneering the field of fat and muscle analysis with proprietary, MRI-based technologies. Our gold-standard platform delivers highly precise and standardized biomarkers, providing an advanced understanding of metabolic and musculoskeletal health that surpasses conventional body composition metrics. These insights play a critical role in optimizing clinical trial design, improving endpoint selection, and supporting data-driven decision-making in both research and clinical practice.
Built on rigorous science and driven by continuous innovation, AMRA’s solutions are designed to meet the complex demands of modern healthcare and pharmaceutical development. Through standardized, cloud-based workflows and strategic collaboration, we enable partners to access actionable data with clarity and confidence–accelerating progress from early-stage discovery to impactful clinical outcomes.
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