PURPOSE: To investigate the effects of B0 field offsets and drift on macromolecule (MM)-suppressed GABA-editing experiments, and to implement and test a prospective correction scheme. "Symmetric" editing schemes are proposed to suppress unwanted coedited MM signals in GABA editing.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Full density-matrix simulations of both conventional (nonsymmetric) and symmetric MM-suppressed editing schemes were performed for the GABA spin system to evaluate their offset-dependence. Phantom and in vivo (15 subjects at 3T) GABA-edited experiments with symmetrical suppression of MM signals were performed to quantify the effects of field offsets on the total GABA+MM signal (designated GABA+). A prospective frequency correction method based on interleaved water referencing (IWR) acquisitions was implemented and its experimental performance evaluated during positive and negative drift.

RESULTS: Simulations show that the signal from MM-suppressed symmetrical editing schemes is an order of magnitude more susceptible to field offsets than the signal from nonsymmetric editing schemes. The MM-suppressed GABA signal changes by 8.6% per Hz for small field offsets. IWR significantly reduces variance in the field offset and measured GABA levels (both P < 0.001 by F-tests), maintaining symmetric suppression of MM signal.

CONCLUSION: Symmetrical editing schemes substantially increase the dependence of measurements on B0 field offsets, which can arise due to patient movement and/or scanner instability. It is recommended that symmetrical editing should be used in combination with effective B0 stabilization, such as that provided by IWR. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2016.