title: Fast multislice mapping of the myelin water fraction using multicompartment analysis of T2* decay at 3T: a preliminary postmortem study.
abstract: Quantitative mapping of the myelin water content can provide significant insight into the pathophysiology of several white matter diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and leukoencephalopathies, and can potentially become a useful clinical tool for early diagnosis of these diseases. In this study, multicompartment analysis of T(2)(*) decay (MCAT(2)(*)) was used for the quantitative mapping of myelin water fraction (MWF). T(2)(*) decay of each voxel at multiple slice locations was acquired in fixed human brains using a multigradient-echo (MGRE) pulse sequence with alternating readout gradient polarities. Compared to prior techniques using Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) acquisition, the MGRE acquisition approach has: 1) a very short first echo time ( approximately 2 ms) and echo-spacing ( approximately 1 ms), which allows for the acquisition of multiple sampling points during the fast decay of the myelin water signal; 2) a low RF duty cycle, which is especially important for achieving acceptable specific absorption rate (SAR) levels at high field strengths. Multicompartment analysis was then applied to the T(2)(*) decay in each pixel using a 3-pool model of white matter to detect the signal arising from the myelin water, myelinated axonal water, and mixed water compartments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver, Colorado 80010, USA. Yiping.Du@UCHSC.edu
authors.forename: Yiping P
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Renxin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Dosik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Mark S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Bette K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Kleinschmidt-DeMasters
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Singel
authors.forename: Jack H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Simon
mesh_terms: D001834:Body Water; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000737:chemistry*; D011180:Postmortem Changes