Clinical NOE 13C MRS for neuropsychiatric disorders of the frontal lobe

Using a combination of low-power WALTZ decoupling, variants of random noise for nuclear overhauser effect enhancement it was possible to reduce power deposition to 20% of the advised maximum specific absorption rate (SAR). In model solutions 13C signal enhancement achieved with this scheme were comparable to that obtained with WALTZ-4. In human brain, the low power procedure effectively determined glutamine, glutamate and bicarbonate in the posterior parietal brain after [1-13C] glucose infusion. The same 13C enriched metabolites were defined in frontal brain of human volunteers after administration of [1-13C] acetate, a recognized probe of glial metabolism. Time courses of incorporation of 13C into cerebral glutamate, glutamine and bicarbonate were constructed. The results suggest efficacy for measurement of in vivo cerebral metabolic rates of the glutamate-glutamine and tricarboxylic acid cycles in 20 min MR scans in previously inaccessible brain regions in humans at 1.5T. We predict these will be clinically useful biomarkers in many human neuropsychiatric and genetic conditions.