Effect of biological factors on successful measurements with skeletal-muscle 1H-MRSs

Abstract

Background: Our purpose in this study was to clarify whether differences in subject group attributes could affect data acquisition in proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). Methods: Subjects without diabetes mellitus (DM) were divided into two groups (group A, in their 20s; group B, 30-60 years old). Subjects with DM formed group C (30-60 years old). The numbers of subjects were 19, 27, and 22 for group A, B, and C respectively. For all subjects, 1H-MRS measurements were taken of the soleus muscle (SOL) and the anterior tibial muscle (AT). We defined the success of the measurements by the detection of intramyocellular lipids. Moreover, we also measured the full width at half maximum of the water peaks for all subjects. Results: The success rate was significantly higher for the AT (100%) than for the SOL (81.6%) (P<0.01). For the SOL, the success rate was 100% in group A, 85.2% in group B, and 77.3% in group C. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) between groups A and B, as well as between groups A and C. In all subjects, there was a significant difference (P<0.01) in the full width at half maximum (Hz) of the water peak between the AT and SOL measurements. Conclusion: We conclude that differences in the age and DM history of subjects could affect the probability of successful 1H-MRS data acquisition.