Correlation of proton MR spectroscopy and diffusion tensor imaging

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) provides indices of neuronal damage. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) relates to water diffusivity and fiber tract orientation. A method to compare (1)H-MRS and DTI findings was developed, tested on phantom and applied on normal brain. Point-resolved spectroscopy (T(R)/T(E)=1500/135) was used for chemical shift imaging of a supraventricular volume of interest of 8 x 8 x 2 cm(3) (64 voxels). In DTI, a segmental spin-echo sequence (T(R)/T(E)=5500/91) was used and slices were stacked to reproduce the slab used in MRS. The spatial distributions of choline and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) correlated to mean fractional anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for the inner 6 x 6=36 voxels defined in MRS, most notably NAA and ADC value (r=-.70, P<.00001; correlation across four subjects, 144 data pairs). This is the first association of neuron metabolite contents in volunteers with structure as indicated by DTI.