Using Diffusion-weighted MR spectroscopy to quantify age- and inflammation-associated changes in glial morphology in-vivo

Age-associated cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disorders have been linked to altered immune function and inflammation, and particularly to the role of microglia. Current methods for imaging (micro)glia in humans are limited to TSPO-PET, a costly and invasive technique with poor cellular specificity. Here we acquired diffusion weighted (DW) MRS in 15 young and 15 older participants, each scanned twice, after Interferon-1beta or placebo. Results supported our prior hypotheses of selective effects of Interferon-1beta on the apparent diffusion coefficient of thalamic Choline (p<0.040), providing support for DW-MRS as a novel in-vivo method for quantifying glial morphology.