Comparing Methods for Absolute Quantification of Brain Metabolites in Grey and White Matter

Claudia Testa¹, Emil Malucelli¹, David Neil Manners¹, Caterina Tonon¹, Raffaele Lodi¹, Bruno Barbiroli¹, Stefano Iotti¹

We tested two methods of absolute quantification for brain metabolite concentrations in grey and white matter. Data were analyzed by LCModel. The individual protocol (IP) determines the T2 of Cho, Cr and NAA by fitting the mono-exponential decay of their signal and the bi-exponential decay of water at different echo times to calculate concentrations. The mean protocol (MP) determines concentrations at TE=35 ms using the mean value obtained from the T2 data set of the corresponding metabolite. Statistical analysis shows that the use of either IP or MP does not significantly affect concentrations values.