Analysis of cerebral structural changes in systemic lupus erythematosus by proton MR spectroscopy.

Purpose: To determine whether cerebral atrophy in systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with decreased levels of the neuronal marker N-acetyl-aspartic acid.

Methods: Two groups of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus were studied, those with significant atrophy (n = 11) and those without significant atrophy (n = 10), using proton MR spectroscopy on a 1.5-T imaging unit.

Enhanced tumor imaging with pokeweed mitogen.

Traditional tumor imaging with biotracer techniques relies solely on the target specificity of the biomolecule. We hypothesize that specific imaging is possible by altering the rate of tissue clearance (both normal and aberrant) of any given radiotracer. Pokeweed mitogen (PWM) as a biomodulator, represents a class of molecules which regulate cellular differentiation and cell-cell interactions and, as part of these mechanisms alter tissue clearance rates (both normal and aberrant).

The magnetic properties and water dynamics of the red blood cell: a study by proton-NMR lineshape analysis.

The magnetic properties and water dynamics of human red blood cells were examined by analysis of the water proton spectra of suspensions of oxygenated, deoxygenated, carbon monoxide-treated, and methemoglobin-containing cells at a magnetic field strength of 7.05 T. Total lineshape analysis of spectra from deoxygenated red blood cell suspensions was performed to determine the transmembrane water exchange rate, the contribution of diffusion in local magnetic field gradients to the transverse relaxation rate, and the difference between the intra- and extracellular chemical shifts of water protons.

Multivoxel 1H-MRS of stroke.

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a noninvasive technique allowing the localized, in vivo detection of proton-containing brain metabolites. We used this technique to study eight patients with cerebral infarction or ischemia. A stimulated echo-pulse sequence with chemical shift imaging was used to acquire spectra from multiple contiguous 4-cc volumes extending from the site of ischemia to the opposite hemisphere.