title: Quantification of glutathione in the human brain by MR spectroscopy at 3 Tesla: Comparison of PRESS and MEGA-PRESS.
abstract: Glutathione (GSH) is an important intracellular antioxidant in the brain. A number of studies report its measurement by localized1H spectroscopy using PRESS and STEAM. This study evaluates the reliability and accuracy of GSH measurements from PRESS at 3 Tesla (T) and compares the results to those obtained with MEGA-PRESS.
  
  
  
  Phantoms containing brain metabolites, identical except for variable GSH concentration between 0 and 24 mM, were scanned using PRESS (echo time (TE) = 35 ms) and MEGA-PRESS (optimized TE = 130 ms) at 3 T. Spectra of the anterior cingulate cortex and occipital cortex in seven healthy volunteers were also acquired.
  
  
  
  Phantom GSH concentrations from 0 to 3mM were unreliably quantified using PRESS, although at 4 mM and above there was a linear relationship between measured and true concentrations (R2= 0.99). Using MEGA-PRESS, there was no signal detected at 0 mM GSH, plus a linear relationship (R2= 0.99) over the full range from 0-24 mM. In brain, concentrations calculated from MEGA-PRESS and PRESS were significantly different in occipital cortex (P < 0.001). Moreover, only MEGA-PRESS reported significant differences in GSH between the two brain regions (P = 0.003).
  
  
  
  Due to uncertainties in GSH quantification raised by the study, the authors conclude that physiological concentrations (<4 mM) of GSH cannot be reliably quantified from PRESS (TE = 35 ms) spectra at 3 T. Magn Reson Med 78:1257-1266, 2017. © 2016 The Authors Magnetic Resonance in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
authors: Centre for Imaging Science, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors: Faezeh
authors: F
authors: Sanaei Nezhad
authors: Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors: Adriana
authors: A
authors: Anton
authors: Centre for Imaging Science, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors: Laura M
authors: LM
authors: Parkes
authors: Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors: Bill
authors: B
authors: Deakin
authors: Centre for Imaging Science, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
authors: Stephen R
authors: SR
authors: Williams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005978:Glutathione
keywords: MEGA-PRESS; PRESS; glutathione; quantification