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Diffusion tensor spectroscopic imaging of the human brain in children and adults
Author(s) -
Fotso Kevin,
Dager Stephen R.,
Landow Alec,
Ackley Elena,
Myers Orrin,
Dixon Mindy,
Shaw Dennis,
Corrigan Neva M.,
Posse Stefan
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.26518
Subject(s) - fractional anisotropy , diffusion mri , metabolite , nuclear medicine , nuclear magnetic resonance , chemistry , magnetic resonance imaging , medicine , physics , radiology
Purpose We developed diffusion tensor spectroscopic imaging (DTSI), based on proton‐echo‐planar‐spectroscopic imaging (PEPSI), and evaluated the feasibility of mapping brain metabolite diffusion in adults and children. Methods PRESS prelocalized DTSI at 3 Tesla (T) was performed using navigator‐based correction of movement‐related phase errors and cardiac gating with compensation for repetition time (TR) related variability in T 1 saturation. Mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of total N‐acetyl‐aspartate (tNAA), total creatine (tCr), and total choline (tCho) were measured in eight adults (17–60 years) and 10 children (3–24 months) using b max = 1734 s/mm 2 , 1 cc and 4.5 cc voxel sizes, with nominal scan times of 17 min and 8:24 min. Residual movement–related phase encoding ghosting (PEG) was used as a regressor across scans to correct overestimation of MD. Results After correction for PEG, metabolite slice‐averaged MD estimated at 20% PEG were lower ( P < 0.042) for adults (0.17/0.20/0.18 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s) than for children (0.26/0.27/0.24 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s). Extrapolated to 0% PEG, the MD estimates decreased further (0.09/0.11/0.11 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s versus 0.15/0.16/0.15 × 10 −3 mm 2 /s). Slice‐averaged FA of tNAA ( P = 0.049), tCr ( P = 0.067), and tCho ( P = 0.003) were higher in children. Conclusion This high‐speed DTSI approach with PEG regression allows for estimation of metabolite MD and FA with improved tolerance to movement. Our preliminary data suggesting age‐related changes support DTSI as a sensitive technique for investigating intracellular markers of biological processes. Magn Reson Med 78:1246–1256, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.