MR spectroscopic imaging of glutathione in the white and gray matter at 7 T with an application to multiple sclerosis

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summary: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in MS has undergone an important expansion over recent years and new techniques have been developed. MR spectroscopic imaging of the brain consists of the analysis of certain molecules which are known to play specific roles in the normal function of the brain or whose presence (or absence) has been associated with neuronal damage. Sometimes the molecules, such as glutathione, which are involved in the normal processes of detoxification in brain cells, are hard to identify with conventional spectroscopic sequences (i.e. with currently used field strengths). It is known that the detoxification processes in the brain may have an influence on the long-term prognosis in MS, and the detection of markers of good functioning in detoxification processes might become a tool to predict future outcome in people with MS. The authors aimed to quantify the glutathione with MR spectroscopy at a very high field strength in the grey and white matter of the brain, in a group of healthy controls and a group of people with MS. They found that glutathione levels were significantly lower in the group of people with MS. These preliminary results help us to better understand the complex pathological processes in MS, although further studies regarding this marker are needed.

authors: Srinivasan R, Ratiney H, Hammond-Rosenbluth KE, Pelletier D, Nelson SJ

source: Magn Reson Imaging. 2009 Aug 18

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