PURPOSE: To understand how macromolecular content varies in the human brain with age in a large cohort of healthy subjects. METHODS: In-vivo 1H-MR spectra were acquired using ultra-short TE STEAM at 7T in the posterior cingulate cortex. Macromolecular content was studied in 147 datasets from a cohort ranging in age from 19 to 89 y. Three fitting approaches were used to evaluate the macromolecular content: (1) a macromolecular resonances model developed for this study; (2) LCModel-simulated macromolecules; and (3) a combination of measured and LCModel-simulated macromolecules. The effect of age on the macromolecular content was investigated by considering age both as a continuous variable (i.e., linear regressions) and as a categorical variable (i.e., multiple comparisons among sub-groups obtained by stratifying data according to age by decade). RESULTS: While weak age-related effects were observed for macromolecular peaks at ̃0.9 (MM09), ̃1.2 (MM12), and ̃1.4 (MM14) ppm, moderate to strong effects were observed for peaks at ̃1.7 (MM17), and ̃2.0 (MM20) ppm. Significantly higher MM17 and MM20 content started from 30 to 40 y of age, while for MM09, MM12, and MM14, significantly higher content started from 60 to 70 y of age. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide insights into age-related differences in macromolecular contents and strengthen the necessity of using age-matched measured macromolecules during quantification.

• MeSH
• cingulární gyrus diagnostické zobrazování   chemie   MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční spektroskopie metody   MeSH
• magnetická rezonanční tomografie metody   MeSH
• makromolekulární látky * chemie   MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mozek diagnostické zobrazování   metabolismus   MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• stárnutí * MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé středního věku MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• senioři nad 80 let MeSH
• senioři MeSH
• ženské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural MeSH