Xiao-Hong Zhu1, Fei Du1, Qiang
Xiong1, Hongyan Qiao1, Xiao Liu1, Jianyi
Zhang2, Xiaoliang Zhang3, Kamil Ugurbil1,
Wei Chen1
1Center for Magnetic Resonance
Research, Department of Radiology,, Minneapolis, MN, United States; 2Department
of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, United States; 3University
of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
In vivo 31P MRS in
combine with saturation transfer provides a useful tool for noninvasively measuring
the cerebral metabolic fluxes of creatine kinase (CK) and ATPase reactions.
However, 3D imaging of these metabolic fluxes in human brain is challenging
owing to limited sensitivity and complicated quantification model when a
short (desired) repetition time is used. In this study, we demonstrate that
with advanced 31P MRS imaging approach and a newly developed
quantification method, it is possible to image the CK and ATPase reaction
rate constants and fluxes in human brain at 7T. We found that these fluxes
were several folds higher in the grey matter than white matter. This study
demonstrates not only the superior sensitivity achievable at high/ultrahigh
field, but also the great potential of 31P approach for studying
cerebral HEP metabolism and neuroenergetics associated with brain function
and dysfunction.