Quantitative 7T sodium magnetic resonance imaging of the human brain using a 32-channel phased-array head coil: Application to patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis

Wilferth T, Mennecke A, Gast L, Lachner S, Müller M, Rothhammer V, Huhn K, Uder M, Dörfler A, Nagel AM, Schmidt M (2022)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

NMR in Biomedicine Wiley

DOI: 10.1002/nbm.4806

Abstract

Apparent tissue sodium concentrations (aTSCs) determined by ²³Na brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have the potential to serve as a biomarker in pathologies such as multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the quantification is hindered by the intrinsically low signal-to-noise ratio of ²³Na MRI. The purpose of this study was to improve the accuracy and reliability of quantitative ²³Na brain MRI by implementing a dedicated postprocessing pipeline and to evaluate the applicability of the developed approach for the examination of MS patients. ²³Na brain MRI measurements of 13 healthy volunteers and 17 patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) were performed at 7 T using a dual-tuned ²³Na/¹H birdcage coil with a receive-only 32-channel phased array. The aTSC values were determined for normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and normal appearing gray matter (NAGM) in healthy subjects and SPMS patients. Signal intensities were normalized using the mean cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sodium concentration determined in 37 separate patients receiving a spinal tap for routine diagnostic purposes. Five volunteers underwent MRI examinations three times in a row to assess repeatability. Coefficients of variation (CoVs) were used to quantify the repeatability of the proposed method. aTSC values were compared regarding brain regions and subject cohort using the paired-samples Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Laboratory CSF sodium concentration did not differ significantly between patients without and with MS (p = 0.42). The proposed quantification workflow for ²³Na MRI was highly repeatable with CoVs averaged over all five volunteers of 1.9% ± 0.9% for NAWM and 2.2% ± 1.6% for NAGM. Average NAWM aTSC was significantly higher in patients with SPMS compared with the control group (p = 0.009). Average NAGM aTSC did not differ significantly between healthy volunteers and MS patients (p = 0.98). The proposed postprocessing pipeline shows high repeatability and the results can serve as a baseline for further studies establishing ²³Na brain MRI as a biomarker in diseases such as MS.

Authors with CRIS profile

Tobias Wilferth Institute of Radiology Angelika Mennecke Department of Neuroradiology Lena Gast Institute of Radiology Sebastian Lachner Institute of Radiology Max Müller Institute of Radiology Veit Rothhammer Heisenbergprofessur für Neuroimmunologie Konstantin Huhn Department of Neurology Michael Uder Lehrstuhl für Diagnostische Radiologie Arnd Dörfler Department of Neuroradiology Armin Michael Nagel Professur für metabolische und funktionelle MR-Bildgebung Manuel Schmidt Department of Neuroradiology

How to cite

APA:

Wilferth, T., Mennecke, A., Gast, L., Lachner, S., Müller, M., Rothhammer, V.,... Schmidt, M. (2022). Quantitative 7T sodium magnetic resonance imaging of the human brain using a 32-channel phased-array head coil: Application to patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis. NMR in Biomedicine. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/nbm.4806

MLA:

Wilferth, Tobias, et al. "Quantitative 7T sodium magnetic resonance imaging of the human brain using a 32-channel phased-array head coil: Application to patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis." NMR in Biomedicine (2022).

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