A method for estimating intracellular sodium concentration and extracellular volume fraction in brain in vivo using sodium magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract

In this feasibility study we propose a method based on sodium magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for estimating simultaneously the intracellular sodium concentration (C1, in mM) and the extracellular volume fraction (α) in grey and white matters (GM, WM) in brain in vivo. Mean C1 over five healthy volunteers was measured ~11 mM in both GM and WM, mean α was measured ~0.22 in GM and ~0.18 in WM, which are in close agreement with standard values for healthy brain tissue (C1 ~ 10–15 mM, α ~ 0.2). Simulation of ‘fluid’ and ‘solid’ inclusions were accurately detected on both the C1 and α 3D maps and in the C1 and α distributions over whole GM and WM. This non-invasive and quantitative method could provide new biochemical information for assessing ion homeostasis and cell integrity in brain and help the diagnosis of early signs of neuropathologies such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, brain tumors or stroke.