Abstract

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance proton spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) is a non-invasivemethod that provides in vivo measurement of metabolic concentrations in body tissue. However, relativelylittle is known about the potential of 1H MR spectroscopy for the quantification of liver metabolites.The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of (1)H MRS in establishing the metabolic patternof normal human liver. MATERIAL/METHODS: Proton spectroscopy of the liver, using the Picker system, EdgeEclipse 1.5T, with whole-body coil and PRESS 35 sequence, was conducted in a group of 24 healthy volunteers.In all subjects we also evaluated the thickness of the subcutaneous fat tissue in MR images and bodymass index. RESULTS: The presence of lipid resonances, phosphoesters (Pe), glycogen/glucose (Glc), andglutamine/glutamate (Gln) were observed in the spectra. Total lipid concentration, CH3 and (CH2)n ofthe lipid resonances were higher in the men than in the women, while the metabolite contents in the CH2=CH-CH2groups of lipids, Pe, Glc and Gln peaks were similar in both genders. We observed statistically significantpositive correlation, more apparent in the group of men, between TL concentration and BMI. There wasno statistically significant correlation between lipid total concentration and age. CONCLUSIONS: Protonspectroscopy enables the quantitative evaluation of lipid contents in the liver. The correlation betweenliver triglyceride contents and body mass index shows that the tendency to obesity is also connectedwith lipid accumulation in the liver.

Keywords: Liver, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Protons, Reference Values, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov