Application of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in metabolic research

The etiology of metabolic disease in humans is far from understood, and even though potential pathways are identified in animal models and cell studies, it is often difficult to determine their relevance in humans, as the possibilities of tissue sampling are limited. The application of non-invasive imaging techniques can provide essential metabolic information and this mini review focuses on the opportunities of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) to add to our understanding of the metabolic processes during health and disease. MRS is a volatile technique that can give us information about the concentrations of endogenous metabolites in a completely non-invasive way. In this mini review we discuss the opportunities that MRS is giving us by describing how the investigation of ectopic fat depots has gained a lot of attention and has really taken off after H-1-MRS for quantification of lipid content became widely available. We furthermore discuss how other MRS techniques, such as P-31-MRS and C-13-MRS can add valuable information and especially highlight the strength of MRS to be applied dynamically and therefore monitor metabolic changes during physiological challenges such as exercise or meal tests.