Mapping Brain Tissue Sodium Concentration in Cognitively Unimpaired Elderly Subjects: a 7T Sodium MRI study

Motivation: 23Na-MRI is an imaging technique to visualize cerebral sodium concentrations, serving as a potential estimate of brain metabolic state. Goal(s): To establish a map of normal brain tissue sodium concentration in cognitively unimpaired elderly subjects and its relation with age. Approach: 23Na-MRI acquisition on a ultra-high field 7T in a cohort of 80 healthy elderly subjects (50-80 years old). Results: Quantification parametric maps of tissue sodium concentration under ultra-high-field MRI conditions were created in elderly subjects and no strong association with age was found. Impact: 23Na-MRI imaging may be a sensitive tool to discriminate between physiological cerebral aging and decline during pathological processes.