Aliya Gifford1,
2, Joel Kullberg3, Johan Berglund3, Theodore F.
Towse4, 5, Ronald C. Walker6, 7,
Malcolm J. Avison5, 8, E. Brian Welch5,
7
1Vanderbilt
University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
TN, United States; 2Chemical and Physical Biology Program,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States; 3Department
of Radiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; 4Department of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vanderbilt University School of
Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States; 5Vanderbilt University
Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine,
Nashville, TN, United States; 6Department of Medical Imaging,
Tennessee Valley VA Healthcare, Nashville, TN, United States; 7Department
of Radiology & Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
TN, United States; 8Department of Pharmacology, Vanderbilt
University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic tissue known to be present in human infants, but only recently has it been confirmed in adults using 18F-FDG PET. Reliable identification and spatial mapping methods that can distinguish BAT from white adipose tissue (WAT) would provide investigators with a powerful tool with which to study BATs influence on body metabolism and composition. Using fat-water MRI and 18F-FDG PET, we imaged BAT in a healthy adult human.