Aliya Gifford1, 2, Johan Berglund3, Joel Kullberg3, Theodore F. Towse1, Malcolm J. Avison1, 4, E. Brian Welch5, 6
1Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 2Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 3Department of Radiology, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden; 4Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 5Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 6Institute of Imaging Science , Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic tissue which recent 18F-FDG PET and CT studies have imaged and confirmed the presence of in adult humans. Reliable identification and spatial mapping methods that avoid radiation exposure and can distinguish BAT from white adipose tissue (WAT) would provide a powerful tool with which to study BATs influence on body composition. We hypothesize that BAT may be visualized and quantified in humans using fat-water MRI (FWMRI). Whole-body 3T FWMRI scans were performed on two adult male humans, which revealed tissue with characteristics (location, size and fat signal fraction) associated with BAT.
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