In vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy detection of combined glutamate-glutamine in healthy upper cervical cord at 3 T.

The possibility of quantifying the superimposed signal of glutamate and glutamine (Glx) and its components by ¹H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in the spinal cord is an exciting challenge with important clinical applications in neurological conditions. The spinal cord is a particularly difficult region of interest due to its small volume, magnetic field inhomogeneities and physiological motion. In this study, we investigated for the first time the feasibility of obtaining quantitative measurements of Glx in healthy cervical spinal cord by ¹H MRS at 3 T.

A method for measuring the cross sectional area of the anterior portion of the optic nerve in vivo using a fast 3D MRI sequence.

Purpose: To investigate the three-dimensional (3D) fast-recovery fast spin-echo accelerated (FRFSE-XL) sequence as a new application for measuring the intraorbital optic nerve (ION) mean cross-sectional area in vivo and to determine its value within a commonly used high resolution imaging protocol.

Materials And Methods: The entire ION was scanned in nine healthy volunteers (mean age 32 +/- 4 years) using the 3D FRFSE-XL sequence and a commonly used high resolution short-echo fast fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (sTE fFLAIR) sequence with identical slice locations at 1.5T.