UCSF

Hyperpolarized (HP) ¹³C Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was applied for the first time to image and quantify the uptake and metabolism of [2-¹³C]pyruvate in the human brain to provide new metabolic information on cerebral energy metabolism. HP [2-¹³C]pyruvate was injected intravenously and imaged in 5 healthy human volunteer exams with whole brain coverage in a 1-minute acquisition using a specialized spectral-spatial multi-slice echoplanar imaging (EPI) pulse sequence to acquire ¹³C-labeled volumetric and dynamic images of [2-¹³C]pyruvate and downstream metabolites [5-¹³C]glutamate and [2-¹³C]lactate. Metabolic ratios and apparent conversion rates of pyruvate-to-lactate (k_PL) and pyruvate-to-glutamate (k_PG) were quantified to investigate simultaneously glycolytic and oxidative metabolism in a single injection.