Molecular self-diffusion of intracellular metabolites in rat brain in vivo investigated by localized proton NMR diffusion spectroscopy

Diffusion-weighted MR spectroscopy: Consensus, recommendations, and resources from acquisition to modeling

Brain cell structure and function reflect neurodevelopment, plasticity, and aging; and changes can help flag pathological processes such as neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Accurate and quantitative methods to noninvasively disentangle cellular structural features are needed and are a substantial focus of brain research. Diffusion-weighted MRS (dMRS) gives access to diffusion properties of endogenous intracellular brain metabolites that are preferentially located inside specific brain cell populations. Despite its great potential, dMRS remains a challenging technique on all levels: from the data acquisition to the analysis, quantification, modeling, and interpretation of results. These challenges were the motivation behind the organization of the Lorentz Center workshop on "Best Practices & Tools for Diffusion MR Spectroscopy" held in Leiden, the Netherlands, in September 2021. During the workshop, the dMRS community established a set of recommendations to execute robust dMRS studies. This paper provides a description of the steps needed for acquiring, processing, fitting, and modeling dMRS data, and provides links to useful resources.

Rat Brain Global Ischemia-Induced Diffusion Changes Revisited: Biophysical Modeling of the Water and NAA MR "Diffusion Signal"

PURPOSE

To assess changes in intracellular diffusion as a mechanism for the reduction in water ADC that accompanies brain injury. Using NAA as a marker of neuronal cytoplasmic diffusion, NAA diffusion was measured before and after global ischemia (immediately postmortem) in the female Sprague-Dawley rat.

METHODS

Diffusion-weighted PRESS spectra, with diffusion encoding in a single direction, were acquired from large voxels of rat brain gray matter in vivo and postischemia employing either pairs of pulsed half-sine-shaped gradients (in vivo and postischemia, b_max  = 19 ms/μm² ) or sinusoidal oscillating gradients (in vivo only) with frequencies of 99.2-250 Hz. A 2D randomly oriented cylinder (neurite) model gave estimates of longitudinal and transverse diffusivities (D_L and D_T , respectively). In this model, D_L represents the "free" diffusivity of NAA, whereas D_T reflects highly restricted diffusion. Using oscillating gradients, the frequency dependence of D_T [D_T (ω)] gave estimates of the cylinder (axon/dendrite) radius.

RESULTS

A 10% decrease in D_L,NAA followed global ischemia, dropping from 0.391 ± 0.012 μm² /ms to 0.350 ± 0.009 μm² /ms. Modeling D_T,NAA (ω) provided an estimate of the neurite radius of 1.0 ± 0.6 μm.

CONCLUSION

Whereas the increase in apparent intraneuronal viscosity suggested by changes in D_L,NAA may contribute to the overall reduction in water ADC associated with brain injury, it is not sufficient to be the sole explanation. Estimates of neurite radius based on D_T (ω) were consistent with literature values.

In-vivo evaluation of neuronal and glial changes in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with diffusion tensor spectroscopy

Diffusion tensor spectroscopy (DTS) combines features of magnetic resonance spectroscopy and diffusion tensor imaging and permits evaluating cell-type specific properties of microstructure by probing the diffusion of intracellular metabolites. This exploratory study investigates for the first time microstructural changes in the neuronal and glial compartments of the brain of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using DTS. To this end, the diffusion properties of the neuronal metabolite tNAA (N-acetylaspartate + N-acetylaspartylglutamate) and the predominantly glial metabolites tCr (creatine + phosphocreatine) and tCho (choline-containing compounds) were evaluated in the primary motor cortex of 24 ALS patients and 27 healthy controls. Significantly increased values in the diffusivities of all three metabolites were found in ALS patients relative to controls. Further analysis revealed more pronounced microstructural alterations in ALS patients with limb onset than with bulbar onset relative to controls. This observation may be related to the fact that the spectroscopic voxel was positioned in the part of the motor cortex where the motor functions of the limbs are represented. The higher diffusivities of tNAA may reflect neuronal damage and/or may be a consequence of mitochondrial dysfunction in ALS. Increased diffusivities of tCr and tCho are in line with reactive microglia and astrocytes surrounding degenerating motor neurons in the primary motor cortex of ALS patients. This pilot study demonstrates for the first time that cell-type specific microstructural alterations in the brain of ALS patients may be explored in vivo and non-invasively with DTS. In conjunction with other microstructural magnetic resonance imaging techniques, DTS may provide further insights into the pathogenic mechanisms that underlie neurodegeneration in ALS.

Brain Metabolite Diffusion from Ultra-Short to Ultra-Long Time Scales: What Do We Learn, Where Should We Go?

In vivo diffusion-weighted MR spectroscopy (DW-MRS) allows measuring diffusion properties of brain metabolites. Unlike water, most metabolites are confined within cells. Hence, their diffusion is expected to purely reflect intracellular properties, opening unique possibilities to use metabolites as specific probes to explore cellular organization and structure. However, interpretation and modeling of DW-MRS, and more generally of intracellular diffusion, remains difficult. In this perspective paper, we will focus on the study of the time-dependency of brain metabolite apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). We will see how measuring ADC over several orders of magnitude of diffusion times, from less than 1 ms to more than 1 s, allows clarifying our understanding of brain metabolite diffusion, by firmly establishing that metabolites are neither massively transported by active mechanisms nor massively confined in subcellular compartments or cell bodies. Metabolites appear to be instead diffusing in long fibers typical of neurons and glial cells such as astrocytes. Furthermore, we will evoke modeling of ADC time-dependency to evaluate the effect of, and possibly quantify, some structural parameters at various spatial scales, departing from a simple model of hollow cylinders and introducing additional complexity, either short-ranged (such as dendritic spines) or long-ranged (such as cellular fibers ramification). Finally, we will discuss the experimental feasibility and expected benefits of extending the range of diffusion times toward even shorter and longer values.

Low-bandwidth space/frequency component separation for quantitative imaging

Quantitative MRI is often used to analyse multicomponent systems. The analysis requires the contributions from different species to be isolated. Species with distinct chemical shifts can be separated by using a low acquisition bandwidth, which is easy to achieve in common quantitative imaging protocols. The bandwidth reduction leads to separation of NMR contributions from different species in the image space. This new method was implemented and tested on two multicomponent systems containing several spectrally and spatially unresolved components with both distinctly different and similar diffusion coefficients and relaxation times. Separation was achieved with routine MRI diffusion and relaxation measurement pulse sequences in a microimaging environment for water/polyethylene glycol solution and for chloroform/TMS/polyethylene glycol solution. Conventional monoexponential fitting was used to determine diffusion coefficients and relaxation times from the spectrally separated data, whereas biexponential or triexponential fitting was required in the unseparated reference experiments. In the two-component sample, the variation in the determined fast diffusing components was on the same order of magnitude for all experiments, while the variation in the slow diffusing polyethylene glycol was larger when no separation was present. The separation technique provided lower variability for all the determined diffusion coefficients and relaxation times in the three-component sample. The low-bandwidth separation method can provide separation of multicomponent systems based on the chemical shift difference between the species. The accuracy of the technique is comparable with the commonly used methods for bicomponent system analysis and surpasses those when there are more than two components in the sample. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Diffusion-weighted J-resolved spectroscopy

PURPOSE

To develop a novel diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy (DW-MRS) technique in conjunction with J-resolved spatially localized spectroscopy (JPRESS) to measure the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of brain metabolites beyond N-acetylaspartic acid (NAA), creatine (Cr), and choline (Cho) at 3T. This technique will be useful to probe tissue microstructures in vivo, as the various metabolites have different physiological characteristics.

METHODS

Two JPRESS spectra were collected (high b-value and low b-value), and the ADCs of 16 different metabolites were estimated. Two analysis pipelines were developed: 1) a 2D pipeline that uses ProFit software to extract ADCs from metabolites not typically accessible at 3T and 2) a 1D pipeline that uses TARQUIN software to extract the metabolite concentrations from each line in the 2D dataset, allowing for scaling as well as validation.

RESULTS

The ADCs of 16 different metabolites were estimated from within six subjects in parietal white matter. There was excellent agreement between the results obtained from the 1D and 2D pipelines for NAA, Cr, and Cho.

CONCLUSION

The proposed technique provided consistent estimates for the ADCs of NAA, Cr, Cho, glutamate + glutamine, and myo-inositol in all subjects and additionally glutathione and scyllo-inositol in all but one subject. Magn Reson Med 78:1235-1245, 2017. © 2016 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Mr Spectroscopy in Clinical Research

MR spectroscopy (MRS) offers unique possibilities for non-invasive evaluation of biochemistry in vivo. During recent years there has been a growing body of evidence from clinical research studies on human beings using 31P and 1H MRS. The results indicate that it is possible to evaluate phosphorous energy metabolism, loss of neurones, and lactate production in a large number of brain diseases. Furthermore, 31P and 1H MRS may be particularly clinically useful in evaluation of various disorders in skeletal muscle. In the heart 31P MRS seems at the moment the most suitable for evaluation of global affections of the myocardium. In the liver 31P MRS appears to be rather insensitive and non-specific, but absolute quantification of metabolite concentrations and using metabolic “stress models” may prove useful in the future. The clinical role of MRS in oncology is still unclear, but it may be useful for noninvasive follow-up of treatment.

Taken together, the evidence obtained so far certainly shows some trends for clinical applications of MRS. Methods are now available for the clinical research necessary for establishing routine clinical MRS examinations.

Diffusion-weighted line-scan echo-planar spectroscopic imaging technique to reduce motion artifacts in metabolite diffusion imaging

Metabolite diffusion is expected to provide more specific microstructural and functional information than water diffusion. However, highly accurate measurement techniques have still not been developed, especially for reducing motion artifacts caused by cardiac pulsation and respiration. We developed a diffusion-weighted line-scan echo-planar spectroscopic imaging (DW-LSEPSI) technique to reduce such motion artifacts in measuring diffusion-weighted images (DWI) of metabolites. Our technique uses line-scan and echo-planar techniques to reduce phase errors induced by such motion during diffusion time. The phase errors are corrected using residual water signals in water suppression for each acquisition and at each spatial pixel specified by combining the line-scan and echo-planar techniques. We apply this technique to a moving phantom and a rat brain in vivo to demonstrate the reduction of motion artifacts in DWI and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps of metabolites. DW-LSEPSI will be useful for investigating a cellular diffusion environment using metabolites as probes.

The interaction between apparent diffusion coefficients and transverse relaxation rates of human brain metabolites and water studied by diffusion-weighted spectroscopy at 7 T

The dependence of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of molecules in biological tissues on an acquisition-specific timescale is a powerful mechanism for studying tissue microstructure. Unlike water, metabolites are confined mainly to intracellular compartments, thus providing higher specificity to tissue microstructure. Compartment-specific structural and chemical properties may also affect molecule transverse relaxation times (T₂). Here, we investigated the correlation between diffusion and relaxation for N-acetylaspartate, creatine and choline compounds in human brain white matter in vivo at 7 T, and compared them with those of water under the same experimental conditions. Data were acquired in a volume of interest in parietal white matter at two different diffusion times, Δ = 44 and 246 ms, using a matrix of three echo times (T(E)) and five diffusion weighting values (up to 4575 s/mm²). Significant differences in the dependence of the ADCs on T(E) were found between water and metabolites, as well as among the different metabolites. A significant decrease in water ADC as a function of TE was observed only at the longest diffusion time (p < 0.001), supporting the hypothesis that at least part of the restricted water pool can be associated with longer T₂, as suggested by previous studies in vitro. Metabolite data showed an increase of creatine (p < 0.05) and N-acetylaspartate (p < 0.05) ADCs with TE at Δ = 44 ms, and a decrease of creatine (p < 0.05) and N-acetylaspartate (p = 0.1) ADCs with TE at Δ = 246 ms. No dependence of choline ADC on TE was observed. The metabolite results suggest that diffusion and relaxation properties are dictated not only by metabolite distribution in different cell types, but also by other mechanisms, such as interactions with membranes, exchange between "free" and "bound" states or interactions with microsusceptibility gradients.

Microstructural organization of axons in the human corpus callosum quantified by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy of N-acetylaspartate and post-mortem histology

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy of brain metabolites offers unique access to compartment-specific microstructural information on neural tissue. Here, we investigated in detail the diffusion characteristics of the neuronal/axonal markers N-acetylaspartate + N-acetyl aspartyl glutamate (tNAA) in a small region of the human corpus callosum at 7 T. The diffusion-weighted spectroscopy data were analyzed by fitting to a model in which information about cross-callosal tract orientation within the spectroscopy volume, obtained from diffusion tensor imaging data, was incorporated. We estimated the microscopic misalignment of axons (σ φ  = 18.6° ± 3.0°) in excellent agreement with independent histological results (σ φ  = 18.1° ± 4.6°) obtained from microscopic analysis of axonal orientations in the body of the corpus callosum from post-mortem human brain slices. We also robustly quantified the diffusion coefficient of tNAA (0.51 ± 0.06 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s) in axonal cytoplasm, unbiased by the tract curvature. This work supports the notion that microscopic axonal misalignment is a dominant microstructural property in white matter tracts and has a strong impact on the evaluation of tissue microstructure using diffusion information, and should therefore be taken into consideration in the evaluation of white matter microstructure. Additionally, this study enabled robust and unbiased assessment of the cytosolic diffusion coefficient of tNAA, a potential biomarker for axonopathy and neuronal degeneration.

Axonal and glial microstructural information obtained with diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 7T

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy (DWS) offers unique access to compartment-specific microstructural information on tissue, and potentially sensitive detection of compartment-specific changes in disease. The specificity of DWS is, however, offset by its relative low sensitivity, intrinsic to all MRS-based methods, and further exacerbated by the signal loss due to the diffusion weighting and long echo times. In this work we first provide an experimental example for the type of compartment-specific information that can be obtained with DWS from a small volume of interest (VOI) in brain white matter. We then propose and discuss a strategy for the analysis of DWS data, which includes the use of models of diffusion in compartments with simple geometries. We conclude with a broader discussion of the potential role of DWS in the characterization of tissue microstructure and the complementarity of DWS with less-specific but more sensitive microstructural tools such as diffusion tensor imaging.

Anomalous diffusion of brain metabolites evidenced by diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy in vivo

Translational displacement of molecules within cells is a key process in cellular biology. Molecular motion potentially depends on many factors, including active transport, cytosol viscosity and molecular crowding, tortuosity resulting from cytoskeleton and organelles, and restriction barriers. However, the relative contribution of these factors to molecular motion in the cytoplasm remains poorly understood. In this work, we designed an original diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy strategy to probe molecular motion at subcellular scales in vivo. This led to the first observation of anomalous diffusion, that is, dependence of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) on the diffusion time, for endogenous intracellular metabolites in the brain. The observed increase of the ADC at short diffusion time yields evidence that metabolite motion is characteristic of hindered random diffusion rather than active transport, for time scales up to the dozen milliseconds. Armed with this knowledge, data modeling based on geometrically constrained diffusion was performed. Results suggest that metabolite diffusion occurs in a low-viscosity cytosol hindered by ∼2-μm structures, which is consistent with known intracellular organization.

Apparent diffusion coefficients of metabolites in patients with MELAS using diffusion-weighted MR spectroscopy

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

DW-MR spectroscopy can detect the diffusion coefficients of NAA, Cr, PCr, and Cho and can, therefore, provide some useful information. The aims of this study were to probe the mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of MELAS and to see whether DW-MR spectroscopy is a useful technique for other diseases besides cerebral infarction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifteen healthy volunteers and 10 patients with MELAS were enrolled in the study. All were scanned on a 3T whole-body MR imaging scanner. Fifteen ADCs of the singlet metabolites in the gray matter of the healthy subjects, 10 ADCs of the singlet metabolites in the lesions, and 8 ADCs of the singlet metabolites in the nonaffected areas were used in the statistical analysis, respectively.

RESULTS

The metabolite ADCs of the nonaffected areas and the lesions in the patients were higher than those of the frontal gray matter in the healthy controls. There were significant differences between the metabolite ADCs of the nonaffected areas in patients and those in the healthy controls, and it was the same with the metabolite ADCs of the lesions and those of the healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS

The increased ADC values of the metabolites reveal that MELAS is a mitochondrial neuronopathy and involves the entire brain. DW-MR spectroscopy is a very useful noninvasive technique, which can show some valuable information that conventional MR imaging cannot display. Thus, it can be applied to brain diseases besides cerebral infarction.

Considerations for measuring the fractional anisotropy of metabolites with diffusion tensor spectroscopy

Diffusion tensor spectroscopy of metabolites in brain is challenging because of their lower diffusivity (i.e. less signal attenuation for a given b value) and much poorer signal-to-noise ratio relative to water. Although diffusion tensor acquisition protocols have been studied in detail for water, they have not been evaluated systematically for the measurement of the fractional anisotropy of metabolites such as N-acetylaspartate, creatine and choline in the white and gray matter of human brain. Diffusion tensor spectroscopy was performed in vivo with variable maximal b values (1815 or 5018  s/mm(2)). Experiments were also performed on simulated spectra and isotropic alcohol phantoms of various diffusivities, ranging from approximately 0.54 × 10(-3) to 0.13 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s, to assess the sensitivity of diffusion tensor spectroscopic parameters to low diffusivity, noise and b value. The low maximum b value of 1815  s/mm(2) yielded elevated fractional anisotropy (0.53-0.60) of N-acetylaspartate in cortical gray matter relative to the more isotropic value (0.25-0.30) obtained with a higher b value of 5018  s/mm(2); in contrast, the fractional anisotropy of white matter was consistently anisotropic with the different maximal b values (i.e. 0.43-0.54 for b = 1815  s/mm(2) and 0.47-0.51 for b = 5018  s/mm(2)). Simulations, phantoms and in vivo data indicate that greater signal attenuation, to a degree, is desirable for the accurate quantification of diffusion-weighted spectra for slowly diffusing metabolites.

Diffusion-weighted NMR spectroscopy allows probing of 13C labeling of glutamate inside distinct metabolic compartments in the brain

In the present work, diffusion-weighted (DW)-NMR spectroscopy of glutamate was performed during a (13)C-labeled glucose infusion in monkey brain (six experiments). It is shown that glutamate (13)C labeling occurs significantly faster at higher diffusion weightings-slightly for glutamate in position C4, and more markedly for glutamate in position C3. This demonstrates the existence of different diffusion compartments for glutamate, associated with different metabolic rates. Metabolic modeling of (13)C enrichment time-courses suggests that these compartments might be gray and white matter, each having a specific oxidative metabolism rate possibly paralleled by a specific glutamate diffusion coefficient.

Diffusive diffraction observed with volume-selective STEAM MRS in 100microm water-filled capillaries

Diffusive diffraction patterns may be useful for probing the local environment of diffusing molecules in materials with geometrically ordered microstructure. A model system consisting in a bundle of water-filled 100microm glass capillaries was probed with volume-selective stimulated echo (STEAM) MRS on a 7T Bruker PharmaScan tomograph with variable diffusion times for both, parallel and perpendicular diffusion-weighting with respect to the capillaries' axes. The precise orientation of the capillaries was determined with image processing methods. Echo attenuation curves were numerically evaluated with respect to the inner radius of the capillaries R and the diffusion coefficient D using equations given in the literature. Good agreement was found between simulation and experiment. For perpendicular diffusion-weighting and diffusion times in the order of R(2)/D two diffraction minima were observed which were not present for shorter diffusion times and for parallel diffusion-weighting. In conclusion, volume-selective diffusive diffraction was observed with a standard small-animal tomograph.

Cs + ADC in rat brain decreases markedly at death

Spectroscopic resolution of intracellular and extracellular compartments can be used to probe the kinetic environment of those spaces and the compartment-specific changes that occur following injury. This is important for understanding the biophysical mechanisms that underlie the remarkable diffusion-weighted MRI contrast of injured central nervous system (CNS) tissue. Cesium-133 is a physiologic analog of potassium that is actively taken up by cells and resides primarily in the intracellular space. The (133)Cs(+) signal can, thus, be exploited to probe the kinetic environment of the intracellular space. Two principal (133)Cs(+) resonances were observed at 11.74 T. These resonances arise separately from (133)Cs(+) in brain and temporalis muscle. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of Cs(+) in brain decreased from 1.0 +/- 0.2 microm(2)/ms in healthy tissue to 0.24 +/- 0.04 microm(2)/ms following global ischemia (average ADC +/- average uncertainty), while there was no significant change in the ADC of Cs(+) in temporalis muscle after injury. This finding underscores the tissue-specific nature of the decrease in ADC that accompanies brain injury. Further, as the Cs(+) ADC should reflect water ADC in the intracellular space, these results strongly support the hypothesis that the decrease in water ADC associated with CNS injury arises largely from kinetic changes taking place in the intracellular space.

Diffusion properties of NAA in human corpus callosum as studied with diffusion tensor spectroscopy

In diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) the anisotropic movement of water is exploited to characterize microstructure. One confounding issue of DTI is the presence of intra- and extracellular components contributing to the measured diffusivity. This causes an ambiguity in determining the underlying cause of diffusion properties, particularly the fractional anisotropy (FA). In this study an intracellular constituent, N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), was used to probe intracellular diffusion, while water molecules were used to probe the combined intra- and extracellular diffusion. NAA and water diffusion measurements were made in anterior and medial corpus callosum (CC) regions, which are referred to as R1 and R2, respectively. FA(NAA) was found to be greater than FA(Water) in both CC regions, thus indicating a higher degree of anisotropy within the intracellular space in comparison to the combined intra- and extracellular spaces. A decreasing trend in the FA of NAA and water was observed between R1 and R2, while the radial diffusivity (RD) for both molecules increased. The increase in RD(NAA) is particularly significant, thus explaining the more significant decrease in FA(NAA) between the two regions. It is suggested that diffusion tensor spectroscopy of NAA can potentially be used to further characterize microscopic anatomic organization in white matter.

Quantification and identification of components in solution mixtures from 1D proton NMR spectra using singular value decomposition

One-dimensional proton NMR spectra of complex solutions provide rich molecular information, but limited chemical shift dispersion creates peak overlap that often leads to difficulty in peak identification and analyte quantification. Modern high-field NMR spectrometers provide high digital resolution with improved peak dispersion. We took advantage of these spectral qualities and developed a quantification method based on linear least-squares fitting using singular value decomposition (SVD). The linear least-squares fitting of a mixture spectrum was performed on the basis of reference spectra from individual small-molecule analytes. Each spectrum contained an internal quantitative reference (e.g., DSS-d6 or other suitable small molecules) by which the intensity of the spectrum was scaled. Normalization of the spectrum facilitated quantification based on peak intensity using linear least-squares fitting analysis. This methodology provided quantification of individual analytes as well as chemical identification. The analysis of small-molecule analytes over a wide concentration range indicated the accuracy and reproducibility of the SVD-based quantification. To account for the contribution from residual protein, lipid or polysaccharide in solution, a reference spectrum showing the macromolecules or aggregates was obtained using a diffusion-edited 1D proton NMR analysis. We demonstrated this approach with a mixture of small-molecule analytes in the presence of macromolecules (e.g., protein). The results suggested that this approach should be applicable to the quantification and identification of small-molecule analytes in complex biological samples.

Isoflurane strongly affects the diffusion of intracellular metabolites, as shown by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the monkey brain

Isoflurane is a volatile anesthetic commonly used for animal studies. In particular, diffusion nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is frequently performed under isoflurane anesthesia. However, isoflurane is known to affect the phase transition of lipid bilayer, possibly resulting in increased permeability to metabolites. Resulting decreased restriction may affect metabolite apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC). In the present work, the effect of isoflurane dose on metabolite ADC is evaluated using diffusion tensor spectroscopy in the monkey brain. For the five detected intracellular metabolites, the ADC exhibits a significant increase when isoflurane dose varies from 1% to 2%: 13%+/-8% for myo-inositol, 14%+/-13% for total N-acetyl-aspartate, 20%+/-18% for glutamate, 27%+/-7% for total creatine and 53%+/-17% for total choline. Detailed analysis of ADC changes experienced by the five different metabolites argues in favor of facilitated metabolite exchange between subcellular structures at high isoflurane dose. This work strongly supports the idea of metabolite diffusion in vivo being significantly restricted in subcellular structures at long diffusion time, and provides new insights for interpreting ADC values as measured by diffusion NMR spectroscopy.

Anisotropic diffusion of metabolites in peripheral nerve using diffusion weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy at ultra-high field

Although the diffusivity and anisotropy of water has been investigated thoroughly in ordered axonal systems (i.e., nervous tissue), there have been very few studies on the directional dependence of diffusion of metabolites. In this study, the mean apparent diffusion coefficient (Trace/3 ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values of the intracellular metabolites N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine and phosphocreatine (tCr), choline (Cho), taurine (Tau), and glutamate and glutamine (Glx) were measured parallel and perpendicular to the length of excised frog sciatic nerve using a water suppressed, diffusion-weighted, spin-echo pulse sequence at 18.8T. The degree of anisotropy (FA) of NAA (0.41+/-0.09) was determined to be less than tCr (0.59+/-0.07) and Cho (0.61+/-0.11), which is consistent with previously reported human studies of white matter. In contrast, Glx diffusion was found to be almost isotropic with an FA value of 0.20+/-0.06. The differences of FA between the metabolites is most likely due to their differing micro-environments and could be beneficial as an indicator of compartment specific changes with disease, information not readily available with water diffusion.

MRS reveals additional hexose N-acetyl resonances in the brain of a mouse model for Sandhoff disease

Sandhoff disease, one of several related lysosomal storage disorders, results from the build up of N-acetyl-containing glycosphingolipids in the brain and is caused by mutations in the genes encoding the hexosaminidase beta-subunit. Affected individuals undergo progressive neurodegeneration in response to the glycosphingolipid storage. (1)H magnetic resonance spectra of perchloric acid extracts of Sandhoff mouse brain exhibited several resonances ca 2.07 ppm that were not present in the corresponding spectra from extracts of wild-type mouse brain. High-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry of the Sandhoff extracts post-MRS identified the presence of N-acetylhexosamine-containing oligosaccharides, which are the likely cause of the additional MRS resonances. MRS of intact brain tissue with magic angle spinning also showed additional resonances at ca 2.07 ppm in the Sandhoff case. These resonances appeared to increase with disease progression and probably arise, for the most part, from the stored glycosphingolipids, which are absent in the aqueous extracts. Hence in vivo MRS may be a useful tool for detecting early-stage Sandhoff disease and response to treatment.

Optimized diffusion-weighted spectroscopy for measuring brain glutamate apparent diffusion coefficient on a whole-body MR system

A diffusion-weighted stimulated echo acquisition mode sequence was implemented in order to measure the glutamate apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in the monkey brain on a whole-body 3 T system. TE and TM were adjusted for maximizing glutamate signal intensity. Glutamate ADC was measured in a 5.8 mL voxel made of gray and white matter in macaque monkeys. The effect of post-processing on the estimated ADC was carefully assessed and appeared to be critical. Individual scan phasing and macromolecule subtraction corrected for approximately 25% and approximately 15% biases in glutamate ADC, respectively. Proper data processing yielded ADC values of 0.21 +/- 0.03 microm(2)/ms for glutamate, 0.15 +/- 0.04 microm(2)/ms for N-acetylaspartate + N-acetylaspartylglutamate, 0.12 +/- 0.03 microm(2)/ms for creatine, 0.11 +/- 0.05 microm(2)/ms for choline and 0.18 +/- 0.04 microm(2)/ms for myo-inositol.

Diffusion tensor spectroscopy (DTS) of human brain

The diffusion tensor of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine and phosphocreatine (tCr), and choline (Cho) was measured at 3T using a diffusion weighted STEAM (1)H-MRS sequence in the healthy human brain in 6 distinct regions (4 white matter and 2 cortical gray matter). The Trace/3 apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of each metabolite was significantly greater in white matter than gray matter. The Trace/3 ADC values of tCr and Cho were found to be significantly greater than NAA in white matter, whereas all 3 metabolites had similar Trace/3 ADC in cortical gray matter. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values for all 3 metabolites were consistent with water FA values in the 4 white matter regions; however, metabolite FA values were found to be higher than expected in the cortical gray matter. The principal diffusion direction derived for NAA was in good agreement with expected anatomic tract directions in the white matter.

Trace apparent diffusion coefficients of metabolites in human brain using diffusion weighted magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The rotationally invariant trace/3 apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), creatine and phosphocreatine (tCr), and choline (Cho) were determined using a diffusion-weighted stimulated echo acquisition mode sequence at 3 T in three separate human brain regions, namely the subcortical white matter, occipital gray matter, and frontal gray matter. The measurement of the mean diffusivity eliminates the dependence of the measured ADC on the direction of the diffusion gradient relative to the tissue microstructure (i.e., anisotropy). Macroscopic brain motions induce phase errors that were compensated for by phasing (zero and first order) on the single average spectrum (zero order on the NAA peak) prior to summing the individual spectra. This method yielded reproducible trace/3 ADC values in the expected range without the use of cardiac gating. The mean diffusivity of NAA (0.14 +/- 0.03 x 10(-3) mm(2)/s) appears to be less than that of tCr (0.17 +/- 0.04 x 10(-3) mm(2)/s) and Cho (0.18 +/- 0.05 x 10(-3) mm(2)/s) in human brain.

Magnetic resonance measurement of tetramethylammonium diffusion in rat brain: Comparison of magnetic resonance and ionophoresis in vivo diffusion measurements

Magnetic resonance (MR) and ionophoresis are two experimental methods that provide measurements of molecular diffusion in living tissue. Typical experimental settings yield MR studies that are sensitive to mean molecular displacements of approximately 5 microm, and ionophoresis experiments to displacements of > or =100 microm. An assessment of the correspondence between the methods is hampered by the fact that no common probe molecule has been used. One of the most frequently utilized probe molecules in ionophoresis measurements is the tetramethylammonium (TMA) ion. In the current work the diffusion properties of TMA were studied in rat brain in vivo with localized (1)H MR spectroscopy (MRS). Standard treatment of the MR data yielded a 3.6-fold lower apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) compared to ionophoresis. To explore the source of this discrepancy, a separate data processing scheme was applied to the MR data to monitor individual elapsed displacement-distance subpopulations of TMA molecules. This analysis revealed a dependence of the ADC estimation on a given subpopulation's elapsed displacement distance. The MR-derived ADC approached the ionophoresis-derived value as the elapsed displacement distance increased to 15 microm. These observations demonstrate that MR and ionophoresis studies provide complementary information, and that ADC estimates obtained from the two techniques are sensitive to different biophysical determinants.

The apparent dependence of the diffusion coefficient of N-acetylaspartate upon magnetic field strength: evidence of an interaction with NMR methodology

An inverse relationship between applied magnetic field strength and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of several important brain metabolites including N-acetyl-l-aspartate (NAA), choline and creatine, measured in vivo using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), has been reported. In this investigation, using phantom studies of NAA at magnetic field strengths of 3 and 7 T, these observations have been verified under controlled MRS conditions in vitro, and the ADC of NAA has been found to vary inversely with magnetic field strength, decreasing at a rate of 2.5%/T at 20 degrees C. We have also assessed whether the effect is a function of a systemic bias in methodology, or if the effect is actually on the rate of molecular diffusion. This was done using an MRS-independent method for measurement of molecular diffusion in NAA phantoms at 0, 0.025 and 7 T applied magnetic field strengths. As a result, it has been demonstrated that the observed apparent magnetic field dependence of the ADC of NAA is a consequence of the NMR measurement and is apparently not a real effect on molecular diffusion.

Monitoring cytotoxic tumour treatment response by diffusion magnetic resonance imaging and proton spectroscopy

Exposure of tumours to anti-cancer drugs, gene or radiation therapy consistently leads to an increase in water diffusion in the cases expressing favourable treatment response. The diffusion change coincides cytotoxic cell eradication and precedes volume reduction in drug or gene therapy-treated experimental tumours. Interestingly, the recent studies from human brain tumour patients undergoing chemotherapy show similar behaviour of diffusion, suggesting important application for MRI in patient management. In this review observations from diffusion MRI and MRS in the tumours during cytotoxic treatment are summarized and the cellular mechanisms affecting molecular mobility are discussed in the light of tissue microenvironmental and microdynamic changes.

Diffusion-weighted in vivo localized proton MR spectroscopy of human cerebral ischemia and tumor

The apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of water and brain metabolites were determined by proton MR spectroscopy on a clinical MR scanner for healthy volunteers and for pathological changes in cases of acute cerebral infarction and brain tumor. The ADCs of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) and creatines in tissue involved in acute infarction were decreased compared to normal control values, while in tumors they showed increased values. Since NAA is a neuronal marker, these findings suggest that neuronal cell viscosity changes according to the pathological status of the tissue. The lactate ADC was significantly larger than the values for other major metabolites in cases of ischemia and tumor, suggesting that lactate is present in a different compartment. These results indicate that metabolite diffusion data can be used to reveal changes in the intracellular environment depending on the pathological status.

Diffusion NMR spectroscopy

MR offers unique tools for measuring molecular diffusion. This review focuses on the use of diffusion-weighted MR spectroscopy (DW-MRS) to non-invasively quantitate the translational displacement of endogenous metabolites in intact mammalian tissues. Most of the metabolites that are observed by in vivo MRS are predominantly located in the intracellular compartment. DW-MRS is of fundamental interest because it enables one to probe the in situ status of the intracellular space from the diffusion characteristics of the metabolites, while at the same time providing information on the intrinsic diffusion properties of the metabolites themselves. Alternative techniques require the introduction of exogenous probe molecules, which involves invasive procedures, and are also unable to measure molecular diffusion in and throughout intact tissues. The length scale of the process(es) probed by MR is in the micrometer range which is of the same order as the dimensions of many intracellular entities. DW-MRS has been used to estimate the dimensions of the cellular elements that restrict intracellular metabolite diffusion in muscle and nerve tissue. In addition, it has been shown that DW-MRS can provide novel information on the cellular response to pathophysiological changes in relation to a range of disorders, including ischemia and excitotoxicity of the brain and cancer.

Changes in apparent diffusion coefficients of metabolites in rat brain after middle cerebral artery occlusion measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Diffusion-weighted proton MR spectroscopy and imaging have been applied to a rat brain model of unilateral middle cerebral artery occlusion between 1 and 4 hr post occlusion. Similar apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) of most metabolites were observed within each hemisphere. In the ischemic ipsilateral hemisphere, the ADCs were (0.083--0.116). 10(-3) mm(2)/sec for lactate (Lac), alanine (Ala), gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), glutamine (Gln), glutamate (Glu), total creatine (tCr), choline-containing compounds (Cho), and myo-inositol (Ins), in the contralateral hemisphere (0.138--0.158). 10(-3) mm(2)/sec for NAA, Glu, tCr, Cho, and Ins. Higher ADCs was determined for taurine (Tau) in the ipsilateral (0.144. 10(-3) mm(2)/sec) and contralateral (0.198. 10(-3) mm(2)/sec) hemisphere. In the ischemic hemisphere, a relative ADC decrease to 65--75% was observed for NAA, Glu, tCr, Cho, Ins and Tau, which was similar to the decrease of the water ADC (to 67%). The results suggest a common cause of the observed ADC changes and provide a broader experimental basis to evaluate theories of water and metabolite diffusion. Magn Reson Med 45:383-389, 2001.

In vivo measurement of the size of lipid droplets in an intracerebral glioma in the rat

Pulsed field gradient NMR was used to measure the root mean square displacement lambda of the NMR visible lipid molecules in C6 brain tumors in the rat at different diffusion times. For a distribution of spherical droplets of diameter with volume fraction xi(Phi(i)), the mean characteristic droplet diameter Phi(c) = square root of Sigma(i)xi(Phi(i)Phi(i)(2) was shown to be related to the root mean square displacement at long diffusion times by the simple relationship Phi(c)(2) = 10 lambda(2). In the range of diffusion times 100--530 msec, lambda was found to be independent of the diffusion time and equal to 1.35 +/- 0.22 microm and Phi(c) to 4.27 +/- 0.71 microm. The data reinforce the notion that the presence of lipid resonances in NMR spectra of tumors is due to lipid droplets. Light microscopy of histologic slices showed the presence of lipid droplets mainly in the necrotic region and in a layer of tumor cells surrounding the necrosis. Magn Reson Med 45:409-414, 2001.

Metabolite and water apparent diffusion coefficients in the isolated rat heart: effects of ischemia

A decrease in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of water is important in the detection of acute brain disorders, yet it is unknown whether changes in myocardial ADCs hold similar potential. Consequently, in this study a STEAM pulse sequence was modified in order to measure the ADCs of water and the (1)H-NMR detectable metabolites, taurine (an inert marker) and creatine, during perfusion, ischemia, and reperfusion in the isolated rat heart. At the short diffusion time of 50 ms, myocardial ADCs were (1.06 +/- 0. 07) x 10(-3) mm(2)/s for water, (0.29 +/- 0.01) x 10(-3) mm(2)/s for taurine and (0.26 +/- 0.01) x 10(-3) mm(2)/s for creatine. Heart water and taurine ADCs remained constant during ischemia, yet the total creatine ADC increased by 35% owing to the hydrolysis of PCr to creatine. The average cardiomyocyte diameter, calculated from taurine ADC values measured at diffusion times between 50 ms and 1510 ms, was 40 microm in the perfused heart and 27 microm by the end of ischemia. It is concluded that the taurine ADC measured at short diffusion times does not reveal ischemic injury in the heart, but at long diffusion times may be used to calculate changes in myocyte diameter. Magn Reson Med 44:208-214, 2000.

Temporal changes of the apparent diffusion coefficients of water and metabolites in rats with hemispheric infarction: experimental study of transhemispheric diaschisis in the contralateral hemisphere at 7 tesla

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the temporal changes of the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of cerebral metabolites during early focal ischemia using stimulated echo acquisition mode with short echo time at a 7 T magnet to assess the pathophysiology of the reduction in diffusion properties observed both in the ischemic cerebral hemisphere and in the contralateral hemisphere. The ADCs of metabolites in the infarcted hemisphere 1 hour and 3 hours after the onset of ischemia decreased with 25% and 29% for choline containing compounds (Cho), 16% and 26% for creatine and phosphocreatine (Cre), and 19% and 19% for N-acetylaspartate (NAA), respectively, compared with the ADC values 2 hours later in the contralateral hemisphere. There were decreases in the ADC of Cho, Cre, and NAA with 21%, 7%, and 18% 8 hours later, respectively, in the noninfarcted hemisphere, which suggested transhemispheric diaschisis in rats with focal cerebral ischemia. The present study proposed that the diffusion characteristics of the brain metabolites might offer new insights into circulatory and metabolic alteration in the cerebral intracellular circumstance.

Structural information in neuronal tissue as revealed by q-space diffusion NMR spectroscopy of metabolites in bovine optic nerve

1H NMR diffusion experiments performed on the signal of the metabolites in bovine optic nerve showed that the signal decay due to diffusion is bi-exponential with a slow and a fast diffusing component. Diffusion was measured as a function of the diffusion time, and the data were analyzed as a function of b and q values. Bi-exponential fit was used to analyze the data, and the results were compared with the displacement distribution profiles obtained from the q-space analysis of the data. This q-space analysis showed that the fast diffusing component has a broad displacement distribution and appears not to be restricted. On the other hand, the slow diffusing component appears to be highly restricted to milieu in the order of 1-2 microm. The orientation of the sample with respect to the axis for which diffusion was measured affected mainly the relative sizes of the populations of each component, but had only a small effect on the extracted apparent diffusion coefficients. These results from both the b and the q value analyses suggest that the slow diffusing component is related to restricted diffusion of these metabolites in the axonal fibers, while the fast diffusing component represents diffusion of metabolites in cells and along the long axis of the nerve fibers. It is concluded that q-space analysis of metabolite diffusion enables extraction of structural information about the sample, and that the diffusion of the metabolites in optic nerve is dictated mainly by the cellular medium and microstructure of the tissue.

Simultaneous in vivo spectral editing and water suppression

Water suppression is typically performed in vivo by exciting the longitudinal magnetization in combination with dephasing, or by using frequency-selective coherence generation. MEGA, a frequency-selective refocusing technique, can be placed into any pulse sequence element designed to generate a Hahn spin-echo or stimulated echo, to dephase transverse water coherences with minimal spectral distortions. Water suppression performance was verified in vivo using stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) localization, which provided water suppression comparable with that achieved with four selective pulses in 3,1-DRYSTEAM. The advantage of the proposed method was exploited for editing J-coupled resonances. Using a double-banded pulse that selectively inverts a J-coupling partner and simultaneously suppresses water, efficient metabolite editing was achieved in the point resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) and STEAM sequences in which MEGA was incorporated. To illustrate the efficiency of the method, the detection of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was demonstrated, with minimal contributions from macromolecules and overlying singlet peaks at 4 T. The estimated occipital GABA concentration was consistent with previous reports, suggesting that editing for GABA is efficient when based on MEGA at high field strengths.

Quantitative 1H MRI and MRS microscopy of individual V79 lung tumor spheroids

In this Communication 1H MRI and MRS microscopy experiments of individual V79 lung tumor spheroids with diameters between 550 and 650 micrometer are reported. The results have been used to determine the T1, T2, and D values as well as the concentrations of water, total choline, creatine/phosphocreatine, and mobile lipids in the viable rims and in the necrotic centers.

Evaluation of extra- and intracellular apparent diffusion in normal and globally ischemic rat brain via 19F NMR

The biophysical mechanism(s) underlying diffusion-weighted MRI contrast following brain injury remains to be elucidated. Although it is generally accepted that water apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) decreases after brain injury, it is unknown whether this is associated with a decrease in intracellular or extracellular water displacement, or both. To address this question, 2-[19F]luoro-2-deoxyglucose-6-phosphate (2FDG-6P) was employed as a compartment-specific marker in normal and globally ischemic rat brain. Through judicious choice of routes of administration, 2FDG-6P was confined to the intra- or extracellular space. There was no statistical difference between intra- and extracellular 2FDG-6P ADCs in normal or in globally ischemic brain (P > 0.16), suggesting that water ADCs in both compartments are similar. However, ischemia did result in a 40% ADC decrease in both compartments (P < 0.001). Assuming that 2FDG-6P reflects water motion, this study shows that water ADC decreases in both spaces after ischemia, with the reduction of intracellular water motion being the primary source of diffusion-weighted contrast.

Magnetic resonance imaging of acute stroke

In the investigation of ischemic stroke, conventional structural magnetic resonance (MR) techniques (e.g., T1-weighted imaging, T2-weighted imaging, and proton density-weighted imaging) are valuable for the assessment of infarct extent and location beyond the first 12 to 24 hours after onset, and can be combined with MR angiography to noninvasively assess the intracranial and extracranial vasculature. However, during the critical first 6 to 12 hours, the probable period of greatest therapeutic opportunity, these methods do not adequately assess the extent and severity of ischemia. Recent developments in functional MR imaging are showing great promise for the detection of developing focal cerebral ischemic lesions within the first hours. These include (1) diffusion-weighted imaging, which provides physiologic information about the self-diffusion of water, thereby detecting one of the first elements in the pathophysiologic cascade leading to ischemic injury; and (2) perfusion imaging. The detection of acute intraparenchymal hemorrhagic stroke by susceptibility weighted MR has also been reported. In combination with MR angiography, these methods may allow the detection of the site, extent, mechanism, and tissue viability of acute stroke lesions in one imaging study. Imaging of cerebral metabolites with MR spectroscopy along with diffusion-weighted imaging and perfusion imaging may also provide new insights into ischemic stroke pathophysiology. In light of these advances in structural and functional MR, their potential uses in the study of the cerebral ischemic pathophysiology and in clinical practice are described, along with their advantages and limitations.

In vivo and in vitro bi-exponential diffusion of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) in rat brain: a potential structural probe?

Diffusion measurements were performed on the N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) signal in in situ brains (in vivo and post-mortem) and on in vitro brain tissue at 37 degrees C using wide ranges of b-values (from 0 up to 4.5 x 10(6) s/cm2 and 35.8 x 10(6) s/cm2 for the in vivo and the in vitro cases, respectively). In vivo and in vitro NAA signals attenuation due to diffusion was measured at fixed diffusion times (tD). In the in vitro cases the effect of tD on the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of NAA was evaluated. From these experiments the following observations and conclusions were made: (1) NAA signal attenuation both in vivo and in vitro is not mono-exponential and could be fitted by bi-exponential fitting function; (2) analysis of the low b-value range only (up to 0.5 x 10(6) s/cm2) gives a mono-exponential decay (r = 0.999); (3) in both cases the obtained ADCs are sensitive to the diffusion time; (4) the ADCs of the pre- and post-mortem cases are nearly similar; (5) the ADCs obtained from the bi-exponential fitting function decrease when the diffusion time increases; and (6) both the fast and the slow diffusing components of NAA show a considerable restriction by what seems to be a non-permeable barrier from which two compartments were identified, one having a size of 6-8 microns and the other of approximately 1-2 microns in size. It seems conceivable that the two populations identified in the diffusion experiments represent primarily the NAA in the cell body (soma) and in the neurital space (axons and proximal dendrites).

Non-mono-exponential attenuation of water and N-acetyl aspartate signals due to diffusion in brain tissue

Diffusion measurements were performed on water and N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) molecules in excised brain tissue using a wide range of b-values (up to 28.3 x 10(6) and 35.8 x 10(6) s cm-2 for water and NAA, respectively). The attenuation of the signals of water and NAA due to diffusion was measured at fixed diffusion times (tD). These measurements, in which the echo time (TE) was set to 70 ms, were repeated for several diffusion times ranging from 35 to 305 ms. Signal attenuations were fitted to mono-, bi-, and triexponential functions to obtain the apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) of these molecules at each diffusion time. From these experiments the following observations and conclusions were made: (1) Signal attenuation of water and NAA due to diffusion over the entire range of b values examined is not monoexponential and the extracted ADCs depend on the diffusion time; (2) In the case of water the experimental data are best fitted by a triexponential function, while for b values up to 1 x 10(6) s cm-2, a biexponential function seems to reproduce the experimental data as well as the triexponential function; (3) If only the low range of b values are fitted (up to 0.5 x 10(6) s cm-2) signal attenuation of water is monoexponential and insensitive to tD; (4) Water ADCs decreased with the increase in tD but the relative population of the fast diffusing component increases such that at a tD of 305 ms there is nearly a single population; (5) The major fast diffusion component of the water shows only very limited restriction; (6) NAA signal attenuation is biexponential and analysis of the low b-value range gives only monoexponential decay, but the obtained ADC is sensitive to the diffusion time; (7) The ADCs obtained from fitting the data with a biexponential function decrease as diffusion time increases; (8) The relative population of the slow-diffusing component decreases with increasing tD; (9) Both the fast and the slow diffusing components of NAA show a considerable restriction by what seems to be a nonpermeable barrier from which two compartments, one of 7-8 micron and one of approximately 1 micron, were calculated using the Einstein equation. It is suggested that the two compartments represent the NAA in cell bodies and in the intra-axonal space. The effect of the range of the b value used in the diffusion experiments on the results is discussed and used to reconcile some of the apparent discrepancies obtained in different experiments concerning water diffusion in brain tissue. The potential of NAA diffusion experiments to probe cellular structure is discussed.

Diffusion measurement in phantoms and tissues using SLIM localization

A new approach to efficient localized diffusion measurements has been developed and evaluated on phantoms and isolated tissues. The combination of a diffusion-sensitive pulse sequence with SLIM (spectral localization by imaging) makes efficient and accurate localized water and metabolite diffusion measurements possible with a substantial improvement in spatial or time resolution compared to standard methods. Phantom experiments showed that diffusion of substances present in relatively low concentration within small compartments can be measured accurately by this method, suggesting potential applications for diffusion measurements of metabolites in vivo. Experiments on excised rat uterine horns demonstrated the ability of this method to measure localized diffusion of water within irregularly shaped regions of biological samples. Accurate diffusion measurements were achieved in the localized regions with acquisition times less than would have been required by standard diffusion imaging methods.