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Abstract #4290

Chemical Shift Change Shows Spatial Orientation of Lipids in Human Brain

Albert J.S. Idema1, Jannie P. Wijnen2, T. Scheenen2, M. van der Graaf2, A. Heerschap2

1Neurosurgery, UMC St Radboud, Nijmegen, Gelderland, Netherlands; 2Radiology, UMC St Radboud, Nijmegen, Netherlands


In a patient with an intracranial lipoma we performed 3D MR spectroscopic imaging with the head positioned in 3 different sagittal orientations with respect to the main magnetic field and observed for the first time an angular dependent shift and broadening of signals from lipids in human brain in this lipoma. Signals of other metabolites and lipids from a malignant intracranial tumor in the same patient were not affected. The magnitude of the signal changes are very similar to that observed for extramyocellular lipid signals in muscles and thus suggest a similar structural orientation of lipids in the lipoma.