T1-Weighted dynamic glucoseenhanced MR imaging in the human brain

Abstract

To evaluate the ability to detect intracerebral regions of increased glucose concentration at T1r-weighted dynamic glucose-enhanced (DGE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at 7.0 T. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was approved by the institutional review board. Nine patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and four healthy volunteers were included in this study from October 2015 to July 2016. Adiabatically prepared chemical exchange-sensitive spin-lock imaging was performed with a 7.0-T whole-body unit with a temporal resolution of approximately 7 seconds, yielding the timeresolved DGE contrast. T1r-weighted DGE MR imaging was performed with injection of 100 mL of 20% d-glucose via the cubital vein. Glucose enhancement, given by the relative signal intensity change at T1r-weighted MR imaging (DGEr), was quantitatively investigated in brain gray matter versus white matter of healthy volunteers and in tumor tissue versus normal-appearing white matter of patients with glioblastoma. The median signal intensities of the assessed brain regions were compared by using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Results: In healthy volunteers, the median signal intensity in basal ganglia gray matter (DGEr = 4.59%) was significantly increased compared with that in white matter tissue (DGEr = 0.65%) (P = .028). In patients, the median signal intensity in the glucose-enhanced tumor region as displayed on T1r-weighted DGE images (DGEr = 2.02%) was significantly higher than that in contralateral normal-appearing white matter (DGEr = 0.08%) (P