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Abstract #1360

Identification of Two Myocardial Lipid Pools in Muscular Dystrophy Patients by 1H MRS at 3T

Belen Rial1, Joseph J Suttie1, Stefan Neubauer1, Matthew D. Robson1, Jurgen E. Schneider1

1Dept of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom


The excess of myocardial lipid accumulation may produce cardiomyopathy, leading to dysfunction. Myocardial lipid content can now be evaluated using 1 H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The present study shows the ability of proton spectroscopy at 3 T to differentiate intra- from extramyocellular lipid resonances in the inter-ventricular septum of muscular dystrophy patients with impaired septal contractility. Conversely, extramyocellular lipid resonances were not visible in corresponding myocardial spectra of lean normal subjects with significantly lower intra-myocellular lipid content.Thus, cardiac proton MR spectroscopy may help to determine whether or not myocardial lipid overstorage is important in this disease process.1