Clinical Development of MR Spectroscopy and Imaging in Brain Cancers

Inclusion Criteria:

(120 Brain Tumor Patients)

All races and ethnicities

Must meet at least one of the 3 following criteria regarding diagnosis:

Histological diagnosis of a brain tumor
Pre-operative MR imaging suggestive of a brain tumor
Radiographic diagnosis of brain tumor in an inoperable location (e.g. brainstem)
Pretreatment evaluations required for eligibility include a medical history, physical examination, and neurological exam within 30 days prior to study entry.
Patient must be able to provide study-specific consent prior to study entry and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) authorization.
Karnofsky performance status >70%

Life expectancy greater than 3 months.

(50 Non-Tumor Neurological Disorders)

All races and ethnicities

Patients with clinically-proven multiple sclerosis, temporal lobe epilepsy, stroke, or encephalitis.

(5 Health Volunteers)

18-40 years of age
All races and ethnicities
Excellent general health

Exclusion Criteria:

Under age 18
Cardiac pacemaker
Intracranial clips, metal implants, or external clips within 50 cm from the head
Metal in eye
Pregnancy
Claustrophobia
Obesity or any other factors that provide difficulty with supine pose in the magnet
Patients who are unable to provide informed consent
Patients who are pregnant or nursing
Patients with severe kidney dysfunction or uncontrolled cardiac dysfunction
Patients who are claustrophobic or have other contraindication to MRI, such as implanted pacemaker device, vascular clips, surgical clips, prosthetic valves, pace¬makers, otologic implants
Patients with uncontrolled psychiatric manifestations of their brain tumor
Patients for 7 Tesla scans can have no metal in the body