The tripeptide glutathione (L-γ-glutamyl-L-cysteinyl glycine or GSH) is an endogenous antioxidant implicated in many neurological conditions, including multiple sclerosis. Its precise quantification by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy is, however, hampered by its uncertain T2. Here, we present a method for the quantification of GSH T2 in the human brain at 7 Tesla using optimized echo time extension delays and variable refocusing selectivity and symmetry to maximize the intensity and specificity of J-difference-edited GSH signals predicted by a full density matrix description of signal behavior. Using this method, we measured a GSH T2 of 144.2 ± 5.5 ms that is considerably shorter than that calculated for either of two common reference metabolites NAA (221.9 ± 10.3 ms) or creatine (155.3 ± 5.9 ms), emphasizing the importance of considering T2 relaxation differences in the spectroscopic measurement of these metabolites at long echo times.
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