Noninvasive measurement of human brain temperature adjacent to arteriovenous malformation using 3.0 T magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Object: The brain temperature at rest is determined by the balance between heat produced by cerebral energy turnover, which is identical to cerebral metabolism, and heat that is removed, primarily by cerebral blood flow. The present study investigated whether brain temperature measured by proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy can detect cerebral hemodynamic impairment in patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) as shown by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Methods: Brain temperature, cerebral blood flow, and cerebrovascular reactivity were measured using proton MR spectroscopy and SPECT in five healthy volunteers and six patients with AVMs. Regions of interest were selected adjacent to the AVMs and in the corresponding contralateral region. Results: Brain temperature around AVMs was calculated in all subjects using MR spectroscopy. The mean brain temperature in volunteers was 37.1 ± 0.41 °C. A significant correlation was observed between brain temperature ratio (affected side/contralateral side) and cerebrovascular reactivity ratio (affected side/contralateral side) (r = -0.82, p = 0.0480). Conclusion: Brain temperature measured by proton MR spectroscopy can detect cerebral hemodynamic impairment in patients with AVMs. Further investigations regarding the relationships between brain temperature and clinical feature in patients with AVMs are needed.