3.0-T functional brain imaging: a 5-year experience.

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the technical, methodological and diagnostic features of functional imaging (comprising spectroscopy, diffusion, perfusion and cortical activation techniques) and its principal neuroradiological applications on the basis of the experience gained by the authors in the 5 years since the installation of a high-field magnetic resonance (MR) magnet. These MR techniques are particularly effective at 3.0 Tesla (T) owing to their high signal, resolution and sensitivity, reduced scanning times and overall improved diagnostic ability. In particular, the high-field strength enhances spectroscopic analysis due to a greater signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and improved spectral, space and time resolution, resulting in the ability to obtain high-resolution spectroscopic studies not only of the more common metabolites, but also--and especially--of those which, due to their smaller concentrations, are difficult to detect using 1.5-T systems. All of these advantages can be obtained with reduced acquisition times. In diffusion studies, the high-field strength results in greater SNR, because 3.0-T magnets enable increased spatial resolution, which enhances accuracy. They also allow exploration in greater detail of more complex phenomena (such as diffusion tensor and tractography), which are not clearly depicted on 1.5-T systems. The most common perfusion study (with intravenous injection of a contrast agent) benefits from the greater SNR and higher magnetic susceptibility by achieving dramatically improved signal changes, and thus greater reliability, using smaller doses of contrast agent. Functional MR imaging (fMRI) is without doubt the modality in which high-field strength has had the greatest impact. Images acquired with the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) technique benefit from the greater SNR afforded by 3.0-T magnets and from their stronger magnetic susceptibility effects, providing higher signal and spatial resolution. This enhances reliability of the localisation of brain functions, making it possible to map additional areas, even in the millimetre and submillimetre scale. The data presented and results obtained to date show that 3.0-T morphofunctional imaging can become the standard for high-resolution investigation of brain disease.

The pathogenesis of the white matter abnormalities in phenylketonuria. A multimodal 3.0 tesla MRI and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) study.

OBJECTIVE: To gain insights into the nature and pathogenesis of white matter (WM) abnormalities in PKU. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with phenylalanine hydroxylase deficiency (21 with early and 11 with late diagnosis and treatment) and 30 healthy controls underwent an integrated clinical, neuroimaging (3.0 T MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)) and neurochemical (1H MRS) investigation. RESULTS: All patients had white matter abnormalities on T2-weighted (T2W) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) scans; parietal white was consistently affected, followed by occipital, frontal and temporal white matter. T1-weighted hypointense alterations were also found in 8 of 32 patients. DWI hyperintense areas overlapped with those detected on T2W/FLAIR. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was reduced and correlated inversely with severity of white matter involvement. Fractional anisotropy index, eigenvalues lambda(min), lambda(middle), lambda(max) obtained from DTI data, and the principal brain metabolites assessed by 1H MRS (except brain phenylalanine (Phe)) were normal. Brain Phe peak was detected in all but two subjects. Brain and blood Phe were strictly associated. Blood Phe at the diagnosis, patient's age, and concurrent brain Phe independently influence white matter alteration (as expressed by conventional MRI or ADC values). CONCLUSIONS: (a) MRI abnormalities in phenylketonuria are the result of a distinctive alteration of white matter suggesting the intracellular accumulation of a hydrophilic metabolite, which leaves unaffected white matter architecture and structure. (b) White matter abnormalities do not seem to reflect the mechanisms involved in the derangement of mental development in PKU. (c) Our data do not support the usefulness of conventional brain MRI examination in the clinical monitoring of phenylketonuria patients.