Longitudinal Inter- & Intra-Individual Human Brain Metabolic Quantification with Proton MR Spectroscopy at 3T

Ivan Kirov¹, Ilena George¹, Nikhil Jayawickrama¹, James Babb¹, Nissa Perry¹, Oded Gonen¹

Despite research and clinical applications, the longitudinal reproducibility of proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) in the healthy human brain at high magnetic fields and over long periods is not established. We assessed the inter- and intra-subject reproducibility of 1H-MRS of an approach suited for diffuse pathologies. Ten individuals were scanned at 3T annually for three years. Spectra were acquired from 480 voxels, over 360 cc of the brain. The inter- and intra-subject coefficients of variation were on the order of 9-12% and 7-10%, respectively, demonstrating the utility of the approach for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of diffuse neurological diseases.