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Abstract #1520

Detection of Brown Adipose Tissue in an Adult Human Using Fat-Water MRI with Validation by Cold-Activated PET

Aliya Gifford1, 2, Joel Kullberg3, Johan Berglund3, Theodore F. Towse4, 5, Ronald C. Walker6, 7, Malcolm J. Avison5, 8, E. Brian Welch5, 7

1Vanderbilt University Institute 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, Uppsala, Sweden; 4Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; 5Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; 6Department of Medical Imaging, Tennessee Valley VA Healthcare, Nashville, TN, United States; 7Department of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 8Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States


Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic tissue known to be present in human infants, but only recently has it been confirmed in adults using 18F-FDG PET. Reliable identification and spatial mapping methods that can distinguish BAT from white adipose tissue (WAT) would provide investigators with a powerful tool with which to study BATs influence on body metabolism and composition. Using fat-water MRI and 18F-FDG PET, we imaged BAT in a healthy adult human.

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