Rodent Glioma Chemotherapy & Sodium MRI at 21.1T

Victor D. Schepkin¹, Fabian Calixto Bejarano¹, Thomas Morgan², Shannon Gower-Winter², Cathy W. Levenson²

The diagnostic value of sodium MRI has not been established; however, the evidence of its potential is growing with the availability of high magnetic fields. Rodent glioma therapy by BCNU was thoroughly evaluated by sodium and diffusion MRI. The time courses of tumor responses reveal loss of the tumors intracellular sodium gradients early on during therapy, demonstrating it can be part of the in vivo apoptotic process. This finding correlates with multiple evidences already found in vitro. The effect of positive therapy can be detected for each animal individually in a day after initiation of treatment.