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Abstract #2634

A novel single-voxel 1H-MRS sequence for single-shot detection of brain glycine

Kaufman M, Renshaw P, Frederick B, Prescot A
McLean Hospital

Glycine (Gly) serves as an essential coagonist for the glutamatergic N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subtype. NMDA receptor hypofunction is implicated in brain disorders including schizophrenia, and several therapeutic agents targeting glycinergic neurotransmission are currently under development. We recently developed a 1H-MRS echo time (TE)-averaging method capable of monitoring cerebral Gly levels. TE-averaging requires the sampling of multiple TEs thus giving rise to long measurement times. Accordingly, we developed a novel single-shot method capable of suppressing mI whilst retaining the Gly resonance. This method is demonstrated in phantom studies and preliminary in vivo data are presented.