Metabolite Relaxation Times at 3T From Birth to 7 Years
- 1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Abstract
PurposeWith growing interest in pediatric MRS to understand the neurochemistry of brain development, it is essential to establish pediatric-specific metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times for reliable quantification of metabolites. Furthermore, characterization of age-related changes in relaxation times may provide insight into developmental differences in tissue microstructure and cellular composition. Therefore, the goals of this study were two-fold: (1) to estimate metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times in a pediatric cohort; and (2) to assess linear relationships between age and relaxation times.
MethodsTI- and TE-series data were acquired from the bilateral thalamus in 20 and 25 participants aged between 0 and 7 years, respectively. Data were processed and modelled in Osprey 2.5.0. Metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times of total N-acetylaspartate at 2.0 ppm (tNAA2.0), total creatine at 3.0 ppm (tCr3.0), total creatine at 3.9 ppm (tCr3.9), total choline (tCho), myo-inositol (mI) and the combined glutamate and glutamine (Glx) were estimated by fitting the modelled signal amplitudes to TI-series inversion recovery signal and TE-series exponential decay equations, respectively. Linear relationships with age were tested for metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times using Spearman correlations.
ResultstNAA2.0 and Glx showed significant changes in T1 with age. tNAA2.0, tCr3.0, tCho and mI showed significant decrease in T2 with age.
ConclusionSeveral metabolites showed significant changes in relaxation times with age in the thalamus region. Therefore, use of age-specific relaxation correction for pediatric studies using the linear equations provided is encouraged for reliable quantification of metabolites.
Related
- A sociohistorical and epistemological analysis of anorexia 150 years after the birth of the anorexia nervosa diagnosis: Is this form of suffering still in metamorphosis?
- Prolonged breastfeeding, sugar consumption and dental caries at 2 years of age: A birth cohort study: See Original Article here
- Estimating Divergence Times and Diversification Rates with the Unresolved Fossilized Birth-Death Process
- Child’s daily life at 10 years following moderate, late preterm, or early term birth: results from EPIPAGE-2 and ELFE cohorts
- From Metabolite to Signalling: Evolutionary Assembly of the Glutamatergic System Across Metazoans
BibTeX
@misc{muralimanohar2026metabolite,
title = {{Metabolite Relaxation Times at 3T From Birth to 7 Years}},
author = {S. Murali-Manohar and A. Gad and Z. Shams and G. L. Simegn and Y. Song and A. T. Gudmundson and H. J. Zosquarellner and C. W. Davies-Jenkins and D. Simicic and V. Yedavalli and B. Gagoski and E. P. Grant and D. C. Dean and R. Noeske and J. L. Wisnowski and M. B. Nebel and G. Oeltzschner and R. A. E. Edden},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.02.754450},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.02.754450v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Metabolite Relaxation Times at 3T From Birth to 7 Years
AU - S. Murali-Manohar
AU - A. Gad
AU - Z. Shams
AU - G. L. Simegn
AU - Y. Song
AU - A. T. Gudmundson
AU - H. J. Zo{square}llner
AU - C. W. Davies-Jenkins
AU - D. Simicic
AU - V. Yedavalli
AU - B. Gagoski
AU - E. P. Grant
AU - D. C. Dean
AU - R. Noeske
AU - J. L. Wisnowski
AU - M. B. Nebel
AU - G. Oeltzschner
AU - R. A. E. Edden
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/02
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.02.754450
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.02.754450v1
AB - PurposeWith growing interest in pediatric MRS to understand the neurochemistry of brain development, it is essential to establish pediatric-specific metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times for reliable quantification of metabolites. Furthermore, characterization of age-related changes in relaxation times may provide insight into developmental differences in tissue microstructure and cellular composition. Therefore, the goals of this study were two-fold: (1) to estimate metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times in a pediatric cohort; and (2) to assess linear relationships between age and relaxation times. MethodsTI- and TE-series data were acquired from the bilateral thalamus in 20 and 25 participants aged between 0 and 7 years, respectively. Data were processed and modelled in Osprey 2.5.0. Metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times of total N-acetylaspartate at 2.0 ppm (tNAA2.0), total creatine at 3.0 ppm (tCr3.0), total creatine at 3.9 ppm (tCr3.9), total choline (tCho), myo-inositol (mI) and the combined glutamate and glutamine (Glx) were estimated by fitting the modelled signal amplitudes to TI-series inversion recovery signal and TE-series exponential decay equations, respectively. Linear relationships with age were tested for metabolite T1 and T2 relaxation times using Spearman correlations. ResultstNAA2.0 and Glx showed significant changes in T1 with age. tNAA2.0, tCr3.0, tCho and mI showed significant decrease in T2 with age. ConclusionSeveral metabolites showed significant changes in relaxation times with age in the thalamus region. Therefore, use of age-specific relaxation correction for pediatric studies using the linear equations provided is encouraged for reliable quantification of metabolites.
ER -