Investigating the Feasibility of In Vivo Perfusion Imaging Methods for Spinal Cord Using Hyperpolarized [13C]t-Butanol and [13C,15N2]Urea

ConclusionThis study has demonstrated the feasibility of using hyperpolarized [13C]t-butanol and [13C,15N2]urea for assessingin vivo perfusion in cervical spinal cord. Due to differences in blood –brain barrier permeability, t-butanol rapidly crossed the blood–brain barrier and diffused into spine and brain tissue, while urea predominantly remained in vasculature. The results from this study suggest that this technique may provide unique non-invasive imaging tracers that are able to dire ctly monitor hemodynamic processes in the normal and injured spinal cord.
Source: Molecular Imaging and Biology - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research