title: Age Dependency of Myocardial Triglyceride Content: A 3T High-Field 1H-MR Spectroscopy Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The role of myocardial triglyceride (mTG) content in the aging human heart is not entirely understood. The aim of this study was to measure concentrations of mTG content from healthy volunteers and to determine the association between age, mTG content and systolic heart function. Furthermore, the technical stability of the (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) and the reliability of peak evaluation at 3 T were evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The total study population of 47 healthy volunteers was divided into 4 age classes, according to the age of the subjects (1(st) cohort 20 - 29 years (yrs.), n = 20; 2(nd) cohort 30 - 39 yrs., n = 10; 3(rd) cohort 40 - 49 yrs., n = 9; 4(th) cohort 50 - 60 yrs., n = 8). Cardiac MRI and double triggered (1)H-MRS of the myocardium were consecutively performed using a 3 T scanner. Each participant underwent spectroscopic measurements twice in the same investigation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  mTG content increases with age. The correlation of age and mTG is minimal (r = 0.48; p < 0.001). The following age-averaged mTG content values expressed as % of mTG signal compared to the water signal were determined for each cohort: 1(st) cohort 0.25 % (± 0.17); 2(nd) cohort 0.48 % (± 0.30); 3(rd) cohort 0.48 % (± 0.18); 4(th) cohort 0.77 % (± 0.70). There was no significant correlation (r = 0.04; p = n.s.) between LV mass and mTG content in healthy volunteers. Within our cohorts, no effects of age or mTG content on systolic heart function were seen (r = - 0.01; p = n.s.). The intraclass correlation coefficient of spectroscopic measurements was high (r = 0.965; p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Myocardial TG content increases with age. The normal age-dependent concentration ranges of myocardial lipid metabolites reported in this study may be helpful for the correction of acquired (1)H-MRS data in patients when evaluating metabolic and cardiovascular diseases in future magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Petritsch
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gassenmaier
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kunz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Donhauser
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Germany.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Goltz
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Bley
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horn
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006346:Heart Septum / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D012016:Reference Values; D013318:Stroke Volume / Q000502:physiology; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000378:metabolism*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014280:Triglycerides