The purpose of this study was to measure the sodium transverse relaxation time T2 * in the healthy human brain. Five healthy subjects were scanned with 18 echo times (TEs) as short as 0.17 ms. T2 * values were fitted on a voxel-by-voxel basis using a bi-exponential model. Data were also analysed using a continuous distribution fit with a region of interest-based inverse Laplace transform. Average T2 * values were 3.4 ± 0.2 ms and 23.5 ± 1.8 ms in white matter (WM) for the short and long components, respectively, and 3.9 ± 0.5 ms and 26.3 ± 2.6 ms in grey matter (GM) for the short and long components, respectively, using the bi-exponential model. Continuous distribution fits yielded results of 3.1 ± 0.3 ms and 18.8 ± 3.2 ms in WM for the short and long components, respectively, and 2.9 ± 0.4 ms and 17.2 ± 2 ms in GM for the short and long components, respectively. 23 Na T2 * values of the brain for the short and long components for various anatomical locations using ultra-short TEs are presented for the first time.This research was funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Medical Research Council and was supported by the National Institute for Health Research University College London Hospitals Biomedical Research Centre
