Manganese-Enhanced MRI of the Brain in Healthy Volunteers

The manganese ion is used as an intracellular MR imaging contrast agent to study neuronal function in animal models, but it remains unclear whether manganese-enhanced MR imaging can be similarly useful in humans. Using mangafodipir (Teslascan, a chelated manganese-based contrast agent that is FDA-approved), we evaluated the dynamics of manganese enhancement of the brain and glandular structures in the rostral head and neck in healthy volunteers.

We administered mangafodipir intravenously at a rate of 1 mL/minute for a total dose of 5 micromol/kg body weight. Nine healthy adult volunteers (6 men/3 women; median age, 43 years) completed baseline history and physical examination, 3T MR imaging, and blood work. MR imaging also followed mangafodipir administration at various time points from immediate to 7 days, with delayed scans at 1-3 months.

The choroid plexus and anterior pituitary gland enhanced within 10 minutes of infusion, with enhancement persisting up to 7 and 30 days, respectively. Exocrine (parotid, submandibular, sublingual, and lacrimal) glands also enhanced avidly as early as 1 hour postadministration, generally resolving by 1 month; 3 volunteers had residual exocrine gland enhancement, which resolved by 2 months in 1 and by 3 months in the other 2. Mangafodipir did not affect clinical parameters, laboratory values, or T1-weighted signal in the basal ganglia.

Manganese ions released from mangafodipir successfully enable noninvasive visualization of intra- and extracranial structures that lie outside the blood-brain barrier without adverse clinical effects, setting the stage for future neuroradiologic investigation in disease.