Statistical parametric mapping for effects of verapamil on olfactory connections of rat brain in vivo using manganese-enhanced MR imaging.

PURPOSE: We investigated the effect of verapamil on the transport of manganese in the olfactory connections of rat brains in vivo using statistical parametric mapping and manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. METHODS: We divided 12 7-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats into 2 groups of six and injected 10 µL of saline into the right nasal cavities of the first group and 10 µL of verapamil (2.5 mg/mL) into the other group. Twenty minutes after the initial injection, we injected 10 µL of MnCl(2) (1 mol/L) into the right nasal cavities of both groups. We obtained serial T(1)-weighted MR images before administering the verapamil or saline and at 0.5, one, 24, 48, and 72 hours and 7 days after administering the MnCl(2), spatially normalized the MR images on the rat brain atlas, and analyzed the data using voxel-based statistical comparison. RESULTS: Statistical parametric maps demonstrated the transport of manganese. Manganese ions created significant enhancement (t-score = 36.6) 24 hours after MnCl(2) administration in the group administered saline but not at the same time point in the group receiving verapamil. The extent of significantly enhanced regions peaked at 72 hours in both groups and both sides of the brain. The peak of extent in the right side brain in the group injected with saline was 70.2 mm(3) and in the group with verapamil, 92.4 mm(3). The extents in the left side were 64.0 mm(3) for the group with saline and 53.2 mm(3) for the group with verapamil. CONCLUSION: We applied statistical parametric mapping using manganese-enhanced MR imaging to demonstrate in vivo the transport of manganese in the olfactory connections of rat brains with and without verapamil and found that verapamil did affect this transport.

Measurement of manganese content in various organs in rats with or without glucose stimulation.

Our purpose in this study was to assess the manganese (Mn) content in various organs in rats with or without glucose stimulation in vivo and in vitro by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and polarized Zeeman atomic absorption spectrophotometry (PZAAS), respectively. MRI studies were performed in 12 rats using a 1.5-T MRI system. The rats were injected intravenously with saline (6 ml/kg) (saline-stimulated group, n = 6) or glucose (2.34 g/kg) (glucose-stimulated group, n = 6). Ten minutes after saline or glucose administration, MnCl2 (0.02 mmol/kg) was injected intravenously, followed by 6 MRI studies at 8-min intervals. After the last MRI study, rats were killed, and the Mn concentrations in various organs were measured using PZAAS. There was a discrepancy between in vivo and in vitro measurements, which appeared to be due to the partial volume effect and/or the contribution of extracellular Mn. The Mn concentration in the pancreas, normalized to that in the liver in the glucose-stimulated group, increased significantly compared to that in the saline-stimulated group, suggesting that the influx of Mn into ß cells in the pancreas increased in response to glucose stimulation. This study suggested that the measurement of the change in the Mn concentration due to glucose stimulation using PZAAS was effective for evaluating ß-cell function in the pancreas.