Glutamate Reduction in ALS Patients Observed with MR Spectroscopy at 7T

Daniel Polders¹, Esther Verstraete², Vincent Boer¹, Leonard H. van den Berg², Peter Luijten¹, Dennis Klomp¹

In this study, we utilized the increased SNR and chemical shift dispersion available with MRS at 7T to investigate selected metabolites in ALS patients and healthy controls. A single voxel (STEAM) measurement was performed, located in the sub-cortical white matter and covering the left motor tract. Fitting to a simulated basis set of nine metabolites and a separately collected macromolecular baseline showed significantly decreased levels of glutamate and N-acetylaspartylglutamate.