GABA quantification in human anterior cingulate cortex.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the human brain. It has been shown that altered GABA concentration plays an important role in a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders. The main purpose of this study was to propose a combination of PRESS and MEGA-PRESS acquisitions for absolute GABA quantification and to compare GABA estimations obtained using total choline (tCho), total creatine (tCr), and total N-acetyl aspartate (tNAA) as the internal concentration references with water referenced quantification.

Variable flip angle 3D ultrashort echo time (UTE) T mapping of mouse lung: A repeatability assessment.

Background: Lung T is a potential translational biomarker of lung disease. The precision and repeatability of variable flip angle (VFA) T mapping using modern 3D ultrashort echo time (UTE) imaging of the whole lung needs to be established before it can be used to assess response to disease and therapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of regional lung T quantification with VFA 3D-UTE and to investigate long- and short-term T repeatability in the lungs of naive mice.

T1 Relaxation Time in Lungs of Asymptomatic Smokers.

Purpose: Interest in using T1 as a potential MRI biomarker of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has recently increased. Since tobacco smoking is the major risk factor for development of COPD, the aim for this study was to examine whether tobacco smoking, pack-years (PY), influenced T1 of the lung parenchyma in asymptomatic current smokers.

Materials And Methods: Lung T1 measurements from 35 subjects, 23 never smokers and 12 current smokers were retrospectively analyzed from an institutional review board approved study.

COPD Patients Have Short Lung Magnetic Resonance T1 Relaxation Time.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may provide attractive biomarkers for assessment of pulmonary disease in clinical trials as it is free from ionizing radiation, minimally invasive and allows regional information. The aim of this study was to characterize lung MRI T1 relaxation time as a biomarker of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); and specifically its relationship to smoking history, computed tomography (CT), and pulmonary function test (PFT) measurements in comparison to healthy age-matched controls. Lung T1 and inter-quartile range (IQR) of T1 maps from 24 COPD subjects and 12 healthy age-matched non-smokers were retrospectively analyzed from an institutional review board approved study.