title: Evaluation of iron overload by single voxel MRS measurement of liver T2.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To overcome the difficulty of poor signal-to-noise ratio of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluating heavy iron overload by using a single voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) technique.
  
  
  METHODS
  A single voxel STEAM pulse sequence with a minimum TE of 1.5 msec and a sampling volume of 36.6 cm(3) was developed and applied to 1/T2 measurement of the liver in 14 patients with thalassemia whose liver iron concentration was determined through biopsy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The iron level ranged from 0.23 to 37.15 mg Fe/g dry tissue with a median value of 18.06. In all cases, strong MR signals were obtained. 1/T2 was strongly correlated with the liver iron concentration (r = 0.95, P < 0.00005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The single voxel MRS measurement of T2 in liver iron overload overcomes the difficulty of lack of detectable signals in conventional MRI when the iron level is high. There is an excellent correlation between the iron level and 1/T2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. zjwang@bcm.tmc.edu
authors.forename: Zhiyue J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: John C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Haselgrove
authors.forename: Marie B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hubbard
authors.forename: Shuchun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Loomes
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Huaqing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis*; D008099:Liver / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D013789:Thalassemia / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007501:Iron