Quantitative and qualitative fat analysis in human leg muscle of neuromuscular diseases by 1H MR spectroscopy in vivo

✍ Scribed by M. Bárány; P. N. Venkatasubramanian; E. Mok; I. M. Siegel; E. Abraham; N. D. Wycliffe; M. F. Mafee

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 826 KB
• Volume: 10
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0740-3194
• DOI: 10.1002/mrm.1910100206

✦ Synopsis

H MR spectra were recorded from human gastrocnemius muscle at 63.86 MHz using the body coil of the Signa scanner as transmitter and a 3-in. surface coil as receiver. The fat content of the muscle was quantified relative to that of water in a selected volume or slice. The fat/water ratio was 0.05-0.07 for normal muscle but increased to 0.5-6.0 in primary and secondary muscular disorders such as Duchenne and myotonic dystrophy, Charcot-Mane-Tooth and polio muscular atrophy, cerebral palsy, and spina bifida. In Werdnig-Hoffmann spinal atrophy the ratio was above 10. Water-suppressed and sliceselective 'H spectroscopy was used for qualitative analysis of fat. The 'H profile of gastrocnemius muscles between healthy individuals and patients with neuromuscular diseases showed two major differences. In the normal muscle spectra, the resonance from the -( CH2),-protons at I .6 ppm was the most pronounced, whereas in the diseased muscle spectra resonancesalso appeared between 1.1 and 1.4 ppm. Some diseased muscle spectra showed multiple resonances from -CH =CH -in polyunsaturated fatty acids between 5.5 and 7.0 ppm. The corresponding resonances from =CH-CHI--, 1.9-2.0 ppm, and =CH-CH2-CH=, 2.7-2.9 ppm, were also seen. These peaks are usually not detected in normal muscle.