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Longitudinal relaxation time editing for acetylcarnitine detection with 1 H‐MRS
Author(s) -
Lindeboom Lucas,
Bruls Yvonne M.H.,
Ewijk Petronella A.,
Hesselink Matthijs K.C.,
Wildberger Joachim E.,
Schrauwen Patrick,
SchrauwenHinderling Vera B.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.26149
Subject(s) - acetylcarnitine , metabolite , chemistry , nuclear magnetic resonance , biochemistry , physics , metabolism
Purpose Acetylcarnitine formation is suggested to be crucial in sustaining metabolic flexibility and glucose homeostasis. Recently, we introduced a method to detect acetylcarnitine in vivo with long TE 1 H‐MRS. Differences in T 1 relaxation time between lipids and acetylcarnitine can be exploited for additional lipid suppression in subjects with high myocellular lipid levels. Methods Acquisition of spectra with an inversion recovery sequence was alternated with standard signal acquisition to suppress short T 1 metabolite signals. A proof of principle experiment was conducted in a lean subject and the new approach was subsequently tested in four overweight/obese subjects. Results Using the new T 1 editing approach, lipid signals in spectra of skeletal muscle can be (additionally) suppressed by a factor of 10 using a TI of 900 ms. Combination of the long TE protocol with the T 1 editing resulted in a well‐resolved acetylcarnitine peak in the obese subjects. Conclusion The T 1 editing approach suppresses short T 1 metabolites and offers a new contrast in 1 H‐MRS. The approach should be used in combination with a long TE in subjects with high lipid contamination for accurate quantification of the acetylcarnitine concentration. Magn Reson Med 77:505–510, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine