Long component time constant of 23Na T*2 relaxation in healthy human brain

Signal intensity in 23Na images is altered in pathologic conditions such as ischemia and may provide information regarding tissue viability complementary to MR diffusion and perfusion imaging. However, the multicomponent transverse relaxation of 23Na (spin 3/2) complicates the determination of tissue sodium concentration from 23Na images with nonzero echo-time. The purpose of this study was to measure the long component time constant of tissue sodium T*2 relaxation in the healthy human brain at 4 T. Multiecho gradient-echo 23Na images (10 echo-times ranging from 3.8-68.7 ms) were acquired in five healthy human volunteers. T*2 was quantified on a pixel-by-pixel basis using a nonnegative least squares fitting routine using 100 equally spaced bins between 0.5-99.5 ms and parametric maps were produced representing components between 0.5-3, 3.1-50, 50.1-98, and 98.1-99.5 ms. The long T*2 component of tissue sodium (average +/- standard deviation) varied between cortex (occipital = 22.0 +/- 2.4 ms), white matter (parietal = 18.2 +/- 1.9 ms), and subcortical gray matter (thalamus = 16.9 +/- 2.4 ms). These results demonstrate considerable regional variability and establish a foundation for future characterization of 23Na T*2 in conditions such as cerebral ischemia and cancer.