Abstract
Objective: Quantitation of glutathione (GSH) in the human brain in vivo using short echo time 1 H NMR spectroscopy is challenging because GSH resonances are not easily resolved. The main objective of this study was to validate such quantitation in a clinically relevant population using the resolved GSH resonances provided by edited spectroscopy. A secondary objective was to compare several of the neurochemical concentrations quantified along with GSH using LCModel analysis of short echo time spectra in schizophrenia versus control.
Materials and Methods: GSH was quantified at 4T from short echo STEAM spectra and MEGA-PRESS edited spectra from identical volumes of interest (anterior cingulate) in ten volunteers. Neurochemical profiles were quantified in nine controls and 13 medicated schizophrenic patients.
Results: GSH concentrations as quantified using STEAM, 1.6 ± 0.4 μmol/g (mean ± SD, n=10), were within error of those quantified using edited spectra, 1.4 ± 0.4 μmol/g, and were not different (p=0.4). None of the neurochemical measurements reached sufficient statistical power to detect differences smaller than 10% in schizophrenia versus control. As such, no differences were observed.
Conclusions: Human brain GSH concentrations can be quantified in a clinical setting using short-echo time STEAM spectra at 4T.
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Terpstra, M., Vaughan, T.J., Ugurbil, K. et al. Validation of glutathione quantitation from STEAM spectra against edited 1H NMR spectroscopy at 4T: application to schizophrenia. MAGMA 18, 276–282 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-005-0012-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-005-0012-0