Abstract #2631

Simnad V, Dunham S, Knight-Scott J, Fuchs K, Shanbhag D

In this study, we examined the age-related neurochemical and relaxometric differences between healthy young and healthy middle-aged women. 10 ms TE 1H MRS data were collected from healthy women: 7 middle-aged and 5 young participants. Choline (Cho, p=0.028) and myo-Inositol (mI, p=0.041) concentrations were significantly elevated in the middle-aged women relative to the young women, with a mean increase of 24% for Cho and 17% for mI. Additional support for these aging effects is provided by a consistent trend of decreasing relaxometry parameters with increasing age; such as decreasing tissue water T1, T2, and local tissue fraction. The combination of water relaxometry and metabolite concentrations gives a detailed description of the tissue changes that accompany normal age-related cerebral atrophic and neurometabolic changes.