Noninvasive quantification of human brain ascorbate concentration using 1H NMR spectroscopy at 7 T.

Ascorbate (Asc, vitamin C) was quantified in the human brain noninvasively using two different (1)H NMR spectroscopy methods: short-echo time STEAM and MEGA-PRESS homonuclear editing. Taking advantage of increased sensitivity and chemical shift dispersion at 7 T, Asc was quantified with increased reliability relative to our previous study accomplished at 4 T. Asc concentration quantified from short-echo time spectra measured from the occipital lobe of eight healthy subjects ([Asc] = 1.1 +/- 0.3 micromol/g, mean +/- SD) was in excellent agreement with Asc concentration quantified from the same volume of interest using homonuclear editing ([Asc] = 1.2 +/- 0.2 micromol/g). This agreement indicates that at 7 T, Asc can be reliably quantified in the human brain simultaneously with 15 other metabolites. Additional advantages of the short-echo time approach were: shorter measurement time than homonuclear editing and minimal effect of T(2) relaxation on Asc quantification. High magnetic field was also beneficial for Asc quantification with MEGA-PRESS because increased chemical shift dispersion enabled editing with full efficiency, which resulted in a supra-linear gain in signal-to-noise ratio relative to 4 T.