Purpose: Our purposes were to establish suitable conditions for proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to measure dynamic changes in alcohol concentration in the human brain, to evaluate these changes, and to compare the findings with data from analysis of breath vapor and blood samples.
Materials and methods: We evaluated 4 healthy volunteers (mean age 26.5 years; 3 males, one female) with no neurological findings. All studies were performed with 3-tesla clinical equipment using an 8-channel head coil. We applied our modified single-voxel point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) sequence. Continuous measurements of MRS, breath vapor, and blood samples were conducted before and after the subjects drank alcohol with a light meal. The obtained spectra were quantified by LCModel Ver. 6.1, and the accuracy of the MRS measurements was estimated using the estimated standard deviation expressed in percentage (%SD) as a criterion.
Results: Alcohol peaks after drinking were clearly detected at 1.2 ppm for all durations of measurement. Good correlations between breath vapor or blood sample and MRS were found by sub-minute MRS measurement. The continuous measurement showed time-dependent changes in alcohol in the brain and various patterns that differed among subjects.
Conclusions: The clinical 3T equipment enables direct evaluation of sub-minute changes in alcohol metabolism in the human brain.