Dennis W. J. Klomp1,
Robin A. de Graaf, 12, Christine Nabuurs3, Irene M.L.
van Kalleveen1, Wybe J.M. van der Kemp1, Peter R.
Luijten1, Hermien E. Kan4, Andrew Webb4,
Jannie P. Wijnen1, 4, Vincent Oltman Boer5
1UMC
Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands; 2Yale University, New Haven, CT,
United States; 3Maastricht University, Maastricht, Limburg,
Netherlands; 4Leiden UMC, Leiden, Holland, Netherlands; 5University
Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
Phospholipids are highly valuable biomarkers, but detection sensitivity requires substantial optimization. Although conventional in vivo 1H MRS cannot discriminate these phosphomono and diesters, 31P MRS can, but lacks sensitivity. Here we present that using 31P selective editing pulses in a 1H MRS experiment, sensitivity can be boosted by a factor of 2.8 compared to SNR optimized 31P MRS while still enabling distinct detection of phospho-choline (PC), -ethanolamine (PE) and their glycerol compounds (GPC and GPE). Validated in the human brain at 7T, these biomarkers can be explored in clinical studies.