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Characterizing cerebral oxygen metabolism employing oxygen-17 MRI/MRS at high fields

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Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive overview of oxygen (17O) magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging, including the advantages and challenges offered by the different methods developed thus far. The physiological role and relevance of oxygen, and its participation in aerobic metabolism, are addressed to emphasize the importance of the investigations and the efforts related to these developments. Furthermore, a number of methods employed in the determination of the cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen in neural cells will be presented, focusing primarily on methodologies enabling absolute quantification.

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Abbreviations

MRS:

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Γ :

Gyromagnetic ratio

T 1 :

Longitudinal relaxation time

T 2 :

Transverse relaxation time

T *2 :

Effective transverse relaxation time

ω :

Larmor frequency

τ c :

Rotational correlation time

B 0 :

Static magnetic field strength

SNR:

Signal-to-noise ratio

TE:

Echo time

TCA:

Tri-carboxylic acid

ATP:

Adenosine tri-phosphate

ADP:

Adenosine di-phosphate

CBF:

Cerebral blood flow

CSI:

Chemical shift imaging

BBB:

Brain–blood barrier

CMRO2 :

Cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen consumption

PET:

Positron emission tomography

C a(t):

Time-dependent H 172 O concentration in excess of the natural abundance, in arterial blood

C b(t):

Time-dependent H 172 O concentration in excess of the natural abundance, in brain tissue

C v(t):

Time-dependent H 172 O concentration in excess of the natural abundance, in venous blood

K G :

H 172 O gain factor from blood diffusion

K L :

H 172 O factor, lost by diffusion to blood or leading to chemical shift due to a metabolic chemical conversion

CSF:

Cerebrospinal fluid

OEF:

Oxygen extraction fraction

PFC:

Perfluorocarbon

UTE:

Ultra short echo time

TPI:

Twisted projection imaging

TSL:

Spin-lock time

3D-DAPR:

Density-adapted 3D radial pulse

ASL:

Arterial spin labeling

FISP:

Fast imaging with steady state precession

NADH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide hydride

FADH2 :

Flavin adenine dinucleotide

OXPHOS:

Oxidative phosphorylation

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Arthur W. Magill for proofreading the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical Imaging Physics, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine-4, Forschungszentrum Juelich, 52425, Juelich, Germany

    Ali Gordji-Nejad, Klaus Möllenhoff, Ana Maria Oros-Peusquens, Deepu R. Pillai & Nadim Jon Shah

  2. Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, JARA, 52074, Aachen, Germany

    Nadim Jon Shah

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  1. Ali Gordji-Nejad
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  2. Klaus Möllenhoff
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Correspondence to Nadim Jon Shah.

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Gordji-Nejad, A., Möllenhoff, K., Oros-Peusquens, A.M. et al. Characterizing cerebral oxygen metabolism employing oxygen-17 MRI/MRS at high fields. Magn Reson Mater Phy 27, 81–93 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10334-013-0413-4

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