Assessment of cerebral metabolic and microstructural alterations in aging human brain and in patients by using an innovative whole brain 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic technique in combination with quantitative magnetic resonance imaging

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Xiao-Qi Ding
• Subject Area: Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience
• Term: from 2014 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263370457

• Final Report Year: 2022

Final Report Abstract

With is project we have successfully studied healthy aging human brain as well as patients with neurodegenerative or mental orders by use of an innovative whole brain 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic technique, which enables simultaneously determination of brain metabolites over multiple large or small specific brain structures, in combination with quantitative magnetic resonance imaging that could be used to determine brain tissue relaxation, curtail thickness, and subcortical gray matter volumes. Our studies on healthy volunteers demonstrated that, normal aging has influences on brain metabolism, brain microstructures, and neuronal volume of healthy human brain, with associated measurable changes in brain metabolite concentrations, tissue relaxation times, cortical thickness and subcortical gray matter volumes. These measurable parameters, determined either global over the whole brain or over each brain lobe and cerebellum, as well as in multiple specific small brain regions, could be used as useful biomarkers to quantify aging effects on healthy human brain. Moreover, our studies on patients with neurodegenerative or mental disorders showed that, these measurable parameters could also be used as useful biomarkers to sensitively detect neurodegenerative or mental diseaserelated brain pathological alterations in patients, with the derived values from our studies on healthy subjects (healthy data-collection) being used as reference data. Encouraged by success of this project and based on the obtained results, we have proposed a following project with the title “Investigation of brain metabolic changes in Patients with Parkinson disease and with Major Depressive Disorder with whole brain magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging and creation of basic construction for brain metabolic radiomics”, by aiming to improve the early recognition and diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases and mental disorders.

Publications

• (2016). "Detection of Normal Aging Effects on Human Brain Metabolite Concentrations and Microstructure with Whole-Brain MR Spectroscopic Imaging and Quantitative MR Imaging." AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 37(3): 447-454
  Eylers, V. V., Maudsley, A. A., Bronzlik, P., Dellani, P. R., Lanfermann, H. and Ding, X.-Q.
  
• (2016). "Physiological neuronal decline in healthy aging human brain - An in vivo study with MRI and short echo-time whole-brain H MR spectroscopic imaging." Neuroimage 137: 45-51
  Ding, X. Q., Maudsley, A. A., Sabati, M., Sheriff, S., Schmitz, B., Schutze, M., Bronzlik, P., Kahl, K. G. and Lanfermann, H.
  
• (2019). "Altered Neurometabolic Profile in Early Parkinson's Disease: A Study With Short Echo-Time Whole Brain MR Spectroscopic Imaging." Front Neurol 10: 777
  Klietz, M., Bronzlik, P., Nösel, P., Wegner, F., Dressler, D. W., Dadak, M., Maudsley, A. A., Sheriff, S., Lanfermann, H. and Ding, X. Q.
  
• (2019). "Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging indicates brain tissue alterations in patients after liver transplantation." PLoS One 14(9): e0222934
  Goede, L. L., Pflugrad, H., Schmitz, B., Lanfermann, H., Tryc, A. B., Barg-Hock, H., Klempnauer, J., Weissenborn, K. and Ding, X. Q.
  
• (2019). "Regional Metabolite Concentrations in Aging Human Brain: Comparison of Short-TE Whole Brain MR Spectroscopic Imaging and Single Voxel Spectroscopy at 3T." Clinical Neuroradiology 2019 Jan 18
  Maghsudi, H., Schmitz, B., Maudsley, A. A., Sheriff, S., Bronzlik, P., Schütze, M., Lanfermann, H. and Ding, X.
  
• (2020). "Age-related Brain Metabolic Changes up to Seventh Decade in Healthy Humans : Whole-brain Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Imaging Study." Clin Neuroradiol 30(3): 581-589
  Maghsudi, H., Schütze, M., Maudsley, A. A., Dadak, M., Lanfermann, H. and Ding, X. Q.
  
• (2020). "Altered neurometabolism in major depressive disorder: A whole brain (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging study at 3T." Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 101: 109916
  Kahl, K. G., Atalay, S., Maudsley, A. A., Sheriff, S., Cummings, A., Frieling, H., Schmitz, B., Lanfermann, H. and Ding, X. Q.
  
• (2021). "Alterations of Striato-Thalamic Metabolism in Normal Aging Human Brain—An MR Metabolic Imaging Study." Metabolites 11(6): 371
  Ahlswede, M., Nösel, P., Maudsley, A. A., Sheriff, S., Mahmoudi, N., Bronzlik, P., Lanfermann, H. and Ding, X.-Q.
  
• (2021). "Cerebral Microstructural Alterations in Patients With Early Parkinson's Disease Detected With Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Measurements." Front Aging Neurosci 13: 763331
  Klietz, M., Elaman, M. H., Mahmoudi, N., Nösel, P., Ahlswede, M., Wegner, F., Höglinger, G. U., Lanfermann, H. and Ding, X. Q.
  
• (2021). "Clinically Applicable Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Morphologic Measurements of Grey Matter Changes in the Human Brain." Brain Sci 11(1)
  Fu, T., Kobeleva, X., Bronzlik, P., Nösel, P., Dadak, M., Lanfermann, H., Petri, S. and Ding, X. Q.