The goal of this study was to compare the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) of the five major metabolites between young and older adults. Three brain regions were studied at 3 T using STEAM: prefrontal, posterior cingulate and occipital cortices. This study shows that the diffusivities of total N-acetyl aspartate, glutamate and myo-inositol are higher (7% on average) in the posterior cingulate cortex in older adults while no significant differences in ADC for the five major metabolites are observed in the other two brain regions studied. The ADCs of water are also higher in older adults in all three brain regions.
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