Magnetization Transfer Effects from Water to Metabolites in Human Skeletal Muscle Observed by Non-Water-Suppressed MR Spectroscopy

Erin Leigh MacMillan¹, Chris Boesch¹, Roland Kreis¹

Non-water suppressed proton MRS via the metabolite cycling technique was applied to human soleus and tibialis anterior muscles with short TE PRESS at 3T revealing additional features in the downfield region. In addition, magnetization transfer of these downfield resonances, and the upfield creatine CH2 and CH3 peaks, was investigated by selectively inverting the water resonance with increasing mixing times. Changes in magnetization of the downfield resonances and creatine peaks in the soleus were similar to those in the tibialis anterior, which exhibits residual dipolar coupling. These results may help to gain a deeper understanding of underlying magnetization transfer phenomena.