Theoretical and experimental evaluation of broadband decoupling techniques for in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Non-Invasive Analysis of Human Liver Metabolism by Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

The liver is a key node of whole-body nutrient and fuel metabolism and is also the principal site for detoxification of xenobiotic compounds. As such, hepatic metabolite concentrations and/or turnover rates inform on the status of both hepatic and systemic metabolic diseases as well as the disposition of medications. As a tool to better understand liver metabolism in these settings, in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) offers a non-invasive means of monitoring hepatic metabolic activity in real time both by direct observation of concentrations and dynamics of specific metabolites as well as by observation of their enrichment by stable isotope tracers. This review summarizes the applications and advances in human liver metabolic studies by in vivo MRS over the past 35 years and discusses future directions and opportunities that will be opened by the development of ultra-high field MR systems and by hyperpolarized stable isotope tracers.

9.4 T double-tuned 13 C/1 H human head array using a combination of surface loops and dipole antennas

MRI at ultra-high field (UHF, ≥7 T) provides a natural strategy for improving the quality of X-nucleus magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging due to the intrinsic benefit of increased signal-to-noise ratio. Considering that RF coils require both local transmission and reception at UHF, the designs of double-tuned coils, which often consist of several layers of transmit and receive resonant elements, become quite complex. A few years ago, a new type of RF coil, ie a dipole antenna, was developed and used for human body and head imaging at UHF. Due to the mechanical and electrical simplicity of dipole antennas, combining an X-nucleus surface loop array with ¹ H dipoles can substantially simplify the design of a double-tuned UHF human head array coil. Recently, we developed a novel bent folded-end dipole transceiver array for human head imaging at 9.4 T. The new eight-element dipole array demonstrated full brain coverage, and transmit efficiency comparable to that of the substantially more complex 16-element surface loop array. In this work, we developed, constructed and evaluated a double-tuned ¹³ C/¹ H human head 9.4 T array consisting of eight ¹³ C transceiver surface loops and eight ¹ H transceiver bent folded-end dipole antennas all placed in a single layer. We showed that interaction between loops and dipoles can be minimized by placing four ¹ H traps into each ¹³ C loop. The presented double-tuned RF array coil substantially simplifies the design as compared with the common double-tuned surface loop arrays. At the same time, the coil demonstrated an improved ¹ H longitudinal coverage and good transmit efficiency.

A Review of Non-1H RF Receive Arrays in Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy

It is now common practice to use radiofrequency (RF) coils to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in 1H magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy experiments. Use of array coils for non-1H experiments, however, has been historically more limited despite the fact that these nuclei suffer inherently lower sensitivity and could benefit greatly from an increased SNR. Recent advancements in receiver technology and increased support from scanner manufacturers have now opened greater options for the use of array coils for non-1H magnetic resonance experiments. This paper reviews the research in adopting array coil technology with an emphasis on studies of the most commonly studied non-1H nuclei including 31P, 13C, 23Na, and 19F. These nuclei offer complementary information to 1H imaging and spectroscopy and have proven themselves important in the study of numerous disease processes. While recent work with non-1H array coils has shown promising results, the technology is not yet widely utilized and should see substantial developments in the coming years.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the rodent brain: Experts' consensus recommendations

In vivo MRS is a non-invasive measurement technique used not only in humans, but also in animal models using high-field magnets. MRS enables the measurement of metabolite concentrations as well as metabolic rates and their modifications in healthy animals and disease models. Such data open the way to a deeper understanding of the underlying biochemistry, related disturbances and mechanisms taking place during or prior to symptoms and tissue changes. In this work, we focus on the main preclinical 1H, 31P and 13C MRS approaches to study brain metabolism in rodent models, with the aim of providing general experts' consensus recommendations (animal models, anesthesia, data acquisition protocols). An overview of the main practical differences in preclinical compared with clinical MRS studies is presented, as well as the additional biochemical information that can be obtained in animal models in terms of metabolite concentrations and metabolic flux measurements. The properties of high-field preclinical MRS and the technical limitations are also described.

A Frequency Translation System for Multi-Channel, Multi-Nuclear MR Spectroscopy

OBJECTIVE

Most MRI scanners are equipped to receive signals from ¹H array coils but few support multi-channel reception for other nuclei. Using receive arrays can provide significant SNR benefits, usually exploited to enable accelerated imaging, but the extension of these arrays to non-¹H nuclei has received less attention because of the relative lack of broadband array receivers. Non-¹H nuclei often have low sensitivity and stand to benefit greatly from the increase in SNR that arrays can provide. This paper presents a cost-effective approach for adapting standard ¹H multi-channel array receivers for use with other nuclei - in this case, ¹³C.

METHODS

A frequency translation system has been developed that uses active mixers residing at the magnet bore to convert the received signal from a non-¹H array to the ¹H frequency for reception by the host system receiver.

RESULTS

This system has been demonstrated at 4.7T and 7T while preserving SNR and isolation. ¹H decoupling, particularly important for ¹³C detection, can be straightforwardly accommodated.

CONCLUSION

Frequency translation can convert ¹H-only multi-channel receivers for use with other nuclei while maintaining SNR and channel isolation while still enabling ¹H decoupling.

SIGNIFICANCE

This work allows existing multi-channel MRI receivers to be adapted to receive signals from nuclei other than ¹H, allowing for the use of receive arrays for in vivo multi-nuclear NMR.

On the magnetic field dependence of deuterium metabolic imaging

Deuterium metabolic imaging (DMI) is a novel MR-based method to spatially map metabolism of deuterated substrates such as [6,6'-² H₂ ]-glucose in vivo. Compared with traditional ¹³ C-MR-based metabolic studies, the MR sensitivity of DMI is high due to the larger ² H magnetic moment and favorable T₁ and T₂ relaxation times. Here, the magnetic field dependence of DMI sensitivity and transmit efficiency is studied on phantoms and rat brain postmortem at 4, 9.4 and 11.7 T. The sensitivity and spectral resolution on human brain in vivo are investigated at 4 and 7 T before and after an oral dose of [6,6'-² H₂ ]-glucose. For small animal surface coils (Ø 30 mm), the experimentally measured sensitivity and transmit efficiency scale with the magnetic field to a power of +1.75 and -0.30, respectively. These are in excellent agreement with theoretical predictions made from the principle of reciprocity for a coil noise-dominant regime. For larger human surface coils (Ø 80 mm), the sensitivity scales as a +1.65 power. The spectral resolution increases linearly due to near-constant linewidths. With optimal multireceiver arrays the acquisition of DMI at a nominal 1 mL spatial resolution is feasible at 7 T.

Sensitivity enhancement for detection of hyperpolarized 13 C MRI probes with 1 H spin coupling introduced by enzymatic transformation in vivo

PURPOSE

Although ¹ H spin coupling is generally avoided in probes for hyperpolarized (HP) ¹³ C MRI, enzymatic transformations of biological interest can introduce large ¹³ C-¹ H couplings in vivo. The purpose of this study was to develop and investigate the application of ¹ H decoupling for enhancing the sensitivity for detection of affected HP ¹³ C metabolic products.

METHODS

A standalone ¹ H decoupler system and custom concentric ¹³ C/¹ H paddle coil setup were integrated with a clinical 3T MRI scanner for in vivo ¹³ C MR studies using HP [2-¹³ C]dihydroxyacetone, a novel sensor of hepatic energy status. Major ¹³ C-¹ H coupling J_CH  = ∼150 Hz) is introduced after adenosine triphosphate-dependent enzymatic transformation of HP [2-¹³ C]dihydroxyacetone to [2-¹³ C]glycerol-3-phosphate in vivo. Application of WALTZ-16 ¹ H decoupling for elimination of large ¹³ C-¹ H couplings was first tested in thermally polarized glycerol phantoms and then for in vivo HP MR studies in three rats, scanned both with and without decoupling.

RESULTS

As configured, ¹ H-decoupled ¹³ C MR of thermally polarized glycerol and the HP metabolic product [2-¹³ C]glycerol-3-phosphate was achieved at forward power of approximately 15 W. High-quality 3-s dynamic in vivo HP ¹³ C MR scans were acquired with decoupling duty cycle of 5%. Application of ¹ H decoupling resulted in sensitivity enhancement of 1.7-fold for detection of metabolic conversion of [2-¹³ C]dihydroxyacetone to HP [2-¹³ C]glycerol-3-phosphate in vivo.

CONCLUSIONS

Application of ¹ H decoupling provides significant sensitivity enhancement for detection of HP ¹³ C metabolic products with large ¹ H spin couplings, and is therefore expected to be useful for preclinical and potentially clinical HP ¹³ C MR studies. Magn Reson Med 80:36-41, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Selective proton-observed, carbon-edited (selPOCE) MRS method for measurement of glutamate and glutamine 13 C-labeling in the human frontal cortex

PURPOSE

¹³ C magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in combination with infusion of ¹³ C-labeled substrates has led to unique insights into human brain metabolism and neurotransmitter cycling. However, the low sensitivity of direct ¹³ C MRS and high radiofrequency power requirements has limited ¹³ C MRS studies to predominantly data acquisition in large volumes of the occipital cortex. The purpose of this study is to develop an MRS technique for localized detection of ¹³ C-labeling of glutamate and glutamine in the human frontal lobe.

METHODS

We used an indirect (¹ H-[¹³ C]), proton-observed, carbon-edited MRS sequence (selPOCE) for detection of ¹³ C-labeled metabolites in relatively small volumes located in the frontal lobe at 4 T. The SelPOCE method allows for selective and separate detection of glutamate and glutamine resonances, which significantly overlap at magnetic field strengths used for clinical MRI.

RESULTS

Phantom data illustrate how selPOCE can be tuned to selectively detect ¹³ C labeling in different metabolites. Three-dimensional specific absorption rate simulations of radiofrequency power deposition show that the selPOCE method operates comfortably within the global and local Food and Drug Administration specific absorption rate guidelines. In vivo selPOCE data are presented, which were acquired from a 45-mL volume in the frontal lobe of healthy subjects. The in vivo data show the time-dependent ¹³ C-labeling of glutamate and glutamine during intravenous infusion of [1-¹³ C]-glucose. Metrics describing spectral fitting quality of the glutamate and glutamine resonances are reported.

CONCLUSIONS

The SelPOCE sequence allows the detection of ¹³ C-labeling in glutamate and glutamine from a relatively small volume in the human frontal lobe at low radiofrequency power requirements. Magn Reson Med 80:11-20, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Comparison of direct 13C and indirect 1H-[13C] MR detection methods for the study of dynamic metabolic turnover in the human brain

A wide range of direct ¹³C and indirect ¹H-[¹³C] MR detection methods exist to probe dynamic metabolic pathways in the human brain. Choosing an optimal detection method is difficult as sequence-specific features regarding spatial localization, broadband decoupling, spectral resolution, power requirements and sensitivity complicate a straightforward comparison. Here we combine density matrix simulations with experimentally determined values for intrinsic ¹H and ¹³C sensitivity, T₁ and T₂ relaxation and transmit efficiency to allow selection of an optimal ¹³C MR detection method for a given application and magnetic field. The indirect proton-observed, carbon-edited (POCE) detection method provides the highest accuracy at reasonable RF power deposition both at 4T and 7T. The various polarization transfer methods all have comparable performances, but may become infeasible at 7T due to the high RF power deposition. 2D MR methods have limited value for the metabolites considered (primarily glutamate, glutamine and γ-amino butyric acid (GABA)), but may prove valuable when additional information can be extracted, such as isotopomers or lipid composition. While providing the lowest accuracy, the detection of non-protonated carbons is the simplest to implement with the lowest RF power deposition. The magnetic field homogeneity is one of the most important parameters affecting the detection accuracy for all metabolites and all acquisition methods.

High Field In vivo13C Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Brain by Random Radiofrequency Heteronuclear Decoupling and Data Undersampling

In vivo¹³C magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is a unique and effective tool for studying dynamic human brain metabolism and the cycling of neurotransmitters. One of the major technical challenges for in vivo¹³C-MRS is the high radio frequency (RF) power necessary for heteronuclear decoupling. In the common practice of in vivo¹³C-MRS, alkanyl carbons are detected in the spectra range of 10-65 ppm. The amplitude of decoupling pulses has to be significantly greater than the large one-bond ¹H-¹³C scalar coupling (¹J_CH = 125-145 Hz). Two main proton decoupling methods have been developed: broadband stochastic decoupling and coherent composite or adiabatic pulse decoupling (e.g., WALTZ); the latter is widely used because of its efficiency and superb performance under inhomogeneous B₁ field. Because the RF power required for proton decoupling increases quadratically with field strength, in vivo¹³C-MRS using coherent decoupling is often limited to lowmagnetic fields [<=4 Tesla (T)] to keep the local and averaged specific absorption rate (SAR) under the safety guidelines established by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Alternately, carboxylic/amide carbons are coupled to protons via weak long-range ¹H-¹³C scalar couplings, which can be decoupled using low RF power broadband stochastic decoupling. Recently, the carboxylic/amide ¹³C-MRS technique using low power random RF heteronuclear decoupling was safely applied to human brain studies at 7T. Here, we review the two major decoupling methods and the carboxylic/amide ¹³C-MRS with low power decoupling strategy. Further decreases in RF power deposition by frequency-domain windowing and time-domain random under-sampling are also discussed. Low RF power decoupling opens the possibility of performing in vivo¹³C experiments of human brain at very high magnetic fields (such as 11.7T), where signal-to-noise ratio as well as spatial and temporal spectral resolution are more favorable than lower fields.

Reconstruction of randomly under-sampled spectra for in vivo13C magnetic resonance spectroscopy

PURPOSE

Over the past decade, many techniques have been developed to reduce radiofrequency (RF) power deposition associated with proton decoupling in in vivo Carbon-13 (¹³C) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In this work we propose a new strategy that uses data under-sampling to achieve reduction in RF power deposition.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Essentially, proton decoupling is required only during randomly selected segments of data acquisition. By taking advantage of the sparse spectral pattern of the carboxylic/amide region of in vivo¹³C spectra of brain, we developed an iterative algorithm to reconstruct spectra from randomly under-sampled data. Fully sampled data were used as references. Reconstructed spectra were compared with the fully sampled references and evaluated using residuals and relative signal intensity errors.

RESULTS

Numerical simulations and in vivo experiments at 7Tesla demonstrated that this novel decoupling and data processing strategy can effectively reduce decoupling power deposition by greater than 30%.

CONCLUSION

This study proposes and evaluates a novel approach to acquire ¹³C data with reduced proton decoupling power deposition and reconstruct in vivo¹³C spectra of carboxylic/amide metabolite signals using randomly under-sampled data. Because proton decoupling is not needed over a significant portion of data acquisition, this novel approach can effectively reduce the required decoupling power and thus SAR. It opens the possibility of performing in vivo¹³C experiments of human brain at very high magnetic fields.

Trap Design and Construction for High-Power Multinuclear Magnetic Resonance Experiments

Performing multinuclear experiments requires one or more radiofrequency (RF) coils operating at both the proton and second-nucleus frequencies; however, inductive coupling between coils must be mitigated to retain proton sensitivity and coil tuning stability. The inclusion of trap circuits simplifies placement of multinuclear RF coils while maintaining inter-element isolation. Of the commonly investigated non-proton nuclei, perhaps the most technically demanding is carbon-13, particularly when applying a proton decoupling scheme to improve the resulting spectra. This work presents experimental data for trap circuits withstanding high-power broadband proton decoupling of carbon-13 at 7 T. The advantages and challenges of building trap circuits with various inductor and capacitor components are discussed. Multiple trap designs are evaluated on the bench and utilized on an RF coil at 7 T to detect broadband proton-decoupled carbon-13 spectra from a lipid phantom. A particular trap design, built from a coaxial stub inductor and high-voltage ceramic chip capacitors, is highlighted owing to both its performance and adaptability for planar array coil elements with diverse spatial orientations.

Experimental strategies for in vivo13C NMR spectroscopy

In vivo carbon-13 (¹³C) MRS opens unique insights into the metabolism of intact organisms, and has led to major advancements in the understanding of cellular metabolism under normal and pathological conditions in various organs such as skeletal muscles, the heart, the liver and the brain. However, the technique comes at the expense of significant experimental difficulties. In this review we focus on the experimental aspects of non-hyperpolarized ¹³C MRS in vivo. Some of the enrichment strategies which have been proposed so far are described; the various MRS acquisition paradigms to measure ¹³C labeling are then presented. Finally, practical aspects of ¹³C spectral quantification are discussed.

High-sensitivity, broadband-decoupled (13) C MR spectroscopy in humans at 7T using two-dimensional heteronuclear single-quantum coherence

PURPOSE

Carbon-13 ((13) C) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has an intrinsically low NMR sensitivity that often leads to large acquisition volumes or long scan times. While the use of higher magnetic fields can overcome the sensitivity limitations, high radiofrequency (RF) power deposition associated with proton-decoupling limits the achievable gain. Two-dimensional (2D) heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) MRS is a method that uses the high chemical specificity of (13) C MRS while retaining the high sensitivity of (1) H detection. Due to the 2D nature of the method, proton-decoupled (13) C MR spectra can be obtained without the use of high-powered decoupling pulses.

METHODS

A novel three-dimensional (3D) localized 2D HSQC method based on 3D STEAM localization is presented and implemented at 7T. The low RF power deposition of the method allows TR variation along the indirect dimension which, in combination with controlled aliasing, leads to an acceleration of 11.8 relative to a standard 2D NMR acquisition.

RESULTS

Artifact-free, high-quality and high-sensitivity 2D HSQC spectra were obtained for all subjects in 19 min from a small (9 mL) volume placed in the leg adipose tissue. Complete proton decoupling was achieved along the indirect (13) C dimension despite the absence of broadband proton-decoupling pulses. The high chemical specificity along the indirect (13) C dimension allowed the detection of 19 unique resonances from which the lipids could be characterized in terms of saturation and omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid ratio.

CONCLUSION

It has been demonstrated that high-quality 2D HSQC NMR spectra can be acquired from human adipose tissue at 7T. The HSQC method is methodologically simple and robust and is flexible regarding trade-offs between temporal and spectral resolution. 2D HSQC has a strong potential to become a default method in natural-abundance or (13) C-enriched studies of human metabolism in vivo.

Next-generation heteronuclear decoupling for high-field biomolecular NMR spectroscopy

Ultra-high-field NMR spectroscopy requires an increased bandwidth for heteronuclear decoupling, especially in biomolecular NMR applications. Composite pulse decoupling cannot provide sufficient bandwidth at practical power levels, and adiabatic pulse decoupling with sufficient bandwidth is compromised by sideband artifacts. A novel low-power, broadband heteronuclear decoupling pulse is presented that generates minimal, ultra-low sidebands. The pulse was derived using optimal control theory and represents a new generation of decoupling pulses free from the constraints of periodic and cyclic sequences. In comparison to currently available state-of-the-art methods this novel pulse provides greatly improved decoupling performance that satisfies the demands of high-field biomolecular NMR spectroscopy.

(13)C NMR spectroscopy applications to brain energy metabolism

(13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the method of choice for studying brain metabolism. Indeed, the most convincing data obtained to decipher metabolic exchanges between neurons and astrocytes have been obtained using this technique, thus illustrating its power. It may be difficult for non-specialists, however, to grasp thefull implication of data presented in articles written by spectroscopists. The aim of the review is, therefore, to provide a fundamental understanding of this topic to facilitate the non-specialists in their reading of this literature. In the first part of this review, we present the metabolic fate of (13)C-labeled substrates in the brain in a detailed way, including an overview of some general neurochemical principles. We also address and compare the various spectroscopic strategies that can be used to study brain metabolism. Then, we provide an overview of the (13)C NMR experiments performed to analyze both intracellular and intercellular metabolic fluxes. More particularly, the role of lactate as a potential energy substrate for neurons is discussed in the light of (13)C NMR data. Finally, new perspectives and applications offered by (13)C hyperpolarization are described.

State of the art direct 13C and indirect 1H-[13C] NMR spectroscopy in vivo. A practical guide

Carbon-13 NMR spectroscopy in combination with (13)C-labeled substrate infusion is a powerful technique for measuring a large number of metabolic fluxes noninvasively in vivo. It has been used to quantify glycogen synthesis rates, establish quantitative relationships between energy metabolism and neurotransmission, and evaluate the importance of different substrates. Measurements can, in principle, be performed through direct (13)C NMR detection or via indirect (1)H-[(13)C] NMR detection of the protons attached to (13)C nuclei. The choice of detection scheme and pulse sequence depends on the magnetic field strength, whereas substrate selection depends on metabolic pathways. (13)C NMR spectroscopy remains a challenging technique that requires several nonstandard hardware modifications, infusion of (13)C-labeled substrates, and sophisticated processing and metabolic modeling. In this study, the various aspects of direct (13)C and indirect (1)H-[(13)C] NMR are reviewed with the aim of providing a practical guide.

13C MRS studies of neuroenergetics and neurotransmitter cycling in humans

In the last 25 years, (13)C MRS has been established as the only noninvasive method for the measurement of glutamate neurotransmission and cell-specific neuroenergetics. Although technically and experimentally challenging, (13)C MRS has already provided important new information on the relationship between neuroenergetics and neuronal function, the energy cost of brain function, the high neuronal activity in the resting brain state and how neuroenergetics and neurotransmitter cycling are altered in neurological and psychiatric disease. In this article, the current state of (13)C MRS as it is applied to the study of neuroenergetics and neurotransmitter cycling in humans is reviewed. The focus is predominantly on recent findings in humans regarding metabolic pathways, applications to clinical research and the technical status of the method. Results from in vivo (13)C MRS studies in animals are discussed from the standpoint of the validation of MRS measurements of neuroenergetics and neurotransmitter cycling, and where they have helped to identify key questions to address in human research. Controversies concerning the relationship between neuroenergetics and neurotransmitter cycling and factors having an impact on the accurate determination of fluxes through mathematical modeling are addressed. We further touch upon different (13)C-labeled substrates used to study brain metabolism, before reviewing a number of human brain diseases investigated using (13)C MRS. Future technological developments are discussed that will help to overcome the limitations of (13)C MRS, with special attention given to recent developments in hyperpolarized (13)C MRS.

Heteronuclear decoupling by multiple rotating frame technique

The paper describes the multiple rotating frame technique for designing modulated rf fields, that perform broadband heteronuclear decoupling in solution NMR spectroscopy. The decoupling method presented here is understood by performing a sequence of coordinate transformations, each of which demodulates a component of the rf field to a static component, that progressively averages the chemical shift and the dipolar interaction. We show that by increasing the number of modulations in the decoupling field, the ratio of dispersion in the chemical shift to the strength of the static component of the rf field is successively reduced in the progressive frames. The known decoupling methods like continuous wave decoupling, TPPM, etc., can be viewed as special cases of this method and their performance improves by adding additional modulations in the decoupling field. The technique is also expected to find use in design of broadband excitation, inversion and mixing sequences and broadband experiments in solid state NMR.

Heteronuclear decoupling by optimal tracking

The problem to design efficient heteronuclear decoupling sequences is studied using optimal control methods. A generalized version of the gradient ascent engineering (GRAPE) algorithm is presented that makes it possible to design complex non-periodic decoupling sequences which are characterized by tens of thousands of pulse sequence parameters. In contrast to conventional approaches based on average Hamiltonian theory, the concept of optimal tracking is used: a pulse sequence is designed that steers the evolution of an ensemble of spin systems such that at a series of time points, a specified trajectory of the density operator is tracked as closely as possible. The approach is demonstrated for the case of low-power heteronuclear decoupling in the liquid state for in vivo applications. Compared to conventional sequences, significant gains in decoupling efficiency and robustness with respect to offset and inhomogeneity of the radio-frequency field were found in simulations and experiments.

In vivo neurochemical profiling of rat brain by 1H-[13C] NMR spectroscopy: cerebral energetics and glutamatergic/GABAergic neurotransmission

The quantification of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmission and the associated energy metabolism is crucial for a proper understanding of brain function. Although the detection of glutamatergic neurotransmission in vivo by (13)C NMR spectroscopy is now relatively routine, the detection of GABAergic neurotransmission in vivo has remained elusive because of the low GABA concentration and spectral overlap. Using (1)H-[(13)C] NMR spectroscopy at high magnetic field in combination with robust spectral modeling and the use of different substrates, [U-(13)C(6)]-glucose and [2-(13)C]-acetate, it is shown that GABAergic, as well as glutamatergic neurotransmitter fluxes can be detected non-invasively in rat brain in vivo.

Localized sensitivity enhanced in vivo 13C MRS to detect glucose metabolism in the mouse brain

The application of in vivo 13C MR spectroscopy to mouse brain models is potentially valuable for improving the understanding of cerebral carbohydrate metabolism and glutamatergic neurotransmission in various neuropathologies. However, the low sensitivity of 13C nuclei and contaminating signals of lipids in the relatively small mouse brain make this application rather challenging. To meet these technical challenges, localized semi-adiabatic distortionless enhanced polarization transfer (DEPT) MR spectroscopy in combination with a continuous intravenous [1,6-13C2] glucose infusion was implemented to detect glucose metabolism in isoflurane-anesthetized mice at 7T. The signal enhancement and high spectral resolution obtained in these experiments enabled the separate determination of 13C label incorporation into as much as 13 metabolites from a 175 microL volume. Signal increases of glucose (C6), glutamine (C3, C4), and glutamate (C3, C4) were determined with a time resolution of 8.6 min. This study demonstrates an optimized MR method for the application of in vivo 13C MRS in mouse brain.

Novel strategy for cerebral 13C MRS using very low RF power for proton decoupling

One of the major difficulties of in vivo 13C MRS is the need to decouple the large, one-bond, 1H-13C scalar couplings in order to obtain useful signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and spectral resolution at magnetic field strengths that are accessible to clinical studies. In this report a new strategy for in vivo cerebral 13C MRS is proposed. We realized that the turnover kinetics of glutamate (Glu) C5 from exogenous [2-(13)C]glucose (Glc) is identical to that of Glu C4 from exogenous [1-(13)C]Glc. The carboxylic/amide carbons are only coupled to protons via very weak long-range 1H-13C scalar couplings. As such, they can be effectively decoupled at very low RF power. Therefore, decoupling of the large 1H-13C scalar couplings can be avoided by the use of [2-(13)C]Glc. An additional advantage of this strategy is the lack of contamination from subcutaneous lipids because there are no overlapping fat signals in the vicinity of the Glu C5 and glutamine (Gln) C5 peaks. The feasibility of this strategy was demonstrated using 13C MRS on rhesus monkey brains at 4.7T.

Adiabatic refocusing pulses for volume selection in magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging

Because of their excellent slice profiles and high immunity to RF inhomogeneity, adiabatic full passage (AFP) pulses are ideal for use in spatial localization. The nonlinear, position-dependent phase of a single AFP pulse generated during refocusing of transverse magnetization traditionally is eliminated by using identical pairs of AFP pulses, at the expense of increased RF power deposition and increased echo time (TE). Here it is shown that one can achieve significant phase refocusing by executing single AFP pulses along non-equivalent spatial axes. When used for volume selection in MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) the remaining nonlinear phase becomes inconsequential when the phase across a spectroscopic volume is small. Selection of rectangular and octagonal volumes is demonstrated with half the number of AFP pulses used in the traditional approach. It is shown that octagonal volume selection in the human brain provides excellent suppression of extracranial lipids, and thus allows multislice (1)H MRSI at 4 Tesla to be performed within the guidelines for RF power deposition.

Investigating brain metabolism at high fields using localized 13C NMR spectroscopy without 1H decoupling

Most in vivo 13C NMR spectroscopy studies in the brain have been performed using 1H decoupling during acquisition. Decoupling imposes significant constraints on the experimental setup (particularly for human studies at high magnetic field) in order to stay within safety limits for power deposition. We show here that incorporation of the 13C label from 13C-labeled glucose into brain amino acids can be monitored accurately using localized 13C NMR spectroscopy without the application of 1H decoupling. Using LCModel quantification with prior knowledge of one-bond and multiple-bond J(CH) coupling constants, the uncertainty on metabolites concentrations was only 35% to 91% higher (depending on the carbon resonance of interest) in undecoupled spectra compared to decoupled spectra in the rat brain at 9.4 Tesla. Although less sensitive, 13C NMR without decoupling dramatically reduces experimental constraints on coil setup and pulse sequence design required to keep power deposition within safety guidelines. This opens the prospect of safely measuring 13C NMR spectra in humans at varied brain locations (not only the occipital lobe) and at very high magnetic fields above 4 Tesla.