1H magnetic resonance imaging of normal brain tissue response to photodynamic therapy.

1H Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to study the effects of photodynamic therapy (PDT) on normal rat brain (n = 5) using T1-, T2-, diffusion-, and proton density (rho)-weighted images. Rats received intraperitoneal injections of 12.5 mg/kg of Photofrin II, and 48 hours later the dural area over the frontal cortex was treated with 35 J/cm2 of light (632 +/- 1 nm). The T1-, T2-, and diffusion-weighted images revealed an evolving high contrast region of brain that corresponded to the PDT-treated area. Lesioned brain exhibited significant increases in T1 and T2 relaxation times at 1 day (P less than 0.01) and 3 days (T1, P = 0.018; T2, P less than 0.01) after treatment, compared with the contralateral equivalent volume of nonlesioned brain. Water proton diffusion coefficient (DW) in the lesioned area decreased at 1 day (P = 0.026) and increased at 3 days (P = 0.012) compared with nonlesioned brain. An increase in the proton density ratio (rho D/rho O) from PDT (rho D) versus nonlesioned side (rho O) was found 3 days after PDT treatment (P = 0.03). The data indicate that the biophysical parameters obtained from magnetic resonance imaging scans, T1, T2, DW, and proton density, can be used to monitor changes in an evolving photochemically induced lesion.