Anatomy and metabolism of the normal human brain studied by magnetic resonance at 1.5 Tesla.

Abstract

Proton magnetic resonance (MR) images were obtained of the human head in magnetic fields as high as 1.5 Tesla (T) using slotted resonator high radio-frequency (RF) detection coils. The images showed no RF field penetration problems and exhibited an 11 (+/- 1)-fold improvement in signal-to-noise ratio over a .12-T imaging system. The first localized phosphorus 31, carbon 13, and proton MR chemical shift spectra recorded with surface coils from the head and body in the same instrument showed relative concentrations of phosphorus metabolites, triglycerides, and, when correlated with proton images, negligible lipid (-CH2-) signal from brain tissue on the time scale of the imaging experiment. Sugar phosphate and phosphodiester concentrations were significantly elevated in the head compared with muscle. This method should allow the combined assessment of anatomy, metabolism, and biochemistry in both the normal and diseased brain.

Reversible White Matter Lesions in a Patient with Fulminant Hepatitis and Acute Renal Failure.

“…Lesions are visualized on MRIlargely due to an increase in the proton content in tissue water (ll). Loss of myelin alone is unlikely to affect the MRIintensity because the lipid protons in myelin make only a negligible contribution to the normal brain signal (12). In fact, MRIcan fail to detect pathologically confirmed demyelination caused by a rapid correction of hyponatremia (5).…”

The Clinical Use of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for Studying Human Muscle Metabolism

“…Figures 1 and 2 show 'H, 13 C, and 31 P spectra obtained from normal, resting muscles. it may be necessary to use other approaches, such as 'H H 2 O referencing (17).…”

“…Further advances in the investigation of the brain and other organs in adults and children will require the use of large-bore wholebody spectrometers which are recently available. Systems are also being developed to combine NMR imaging and spectroscopy (13). The considerable investment of financial and personnel resources in the management of a clinical NMR system will depend on its application to a broad medical horizon including both imaging and spectroscopy of many different organs.…”

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and its application in Alzheimer's disease

“…It selectively excites a small volume of tissue (voxel) using gradients, then records the free induction decay (FID) and produces a spectrum from the FID originating from that voxel. In the 1980s the first MR spectrum from living brain was published, and studies were performed on patients with stroke or brain tumors (1)(2)(3). Over the past two decades, MRS has been performed on patients with a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders so as to increase the understanding of the pathological mechanisms of these disorders.…”