[P2-174] Potential clinical utility of magnetic resonance spectroscopy to detect neurochemical and metabolic abnormalities in the brain of Asperger’s syndrome
Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) is a non-invasive neuroimaging method to quantify biochemical metabolites in vivo. The technique typically measures the distribution of low concentration metabolites such as N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine/phosphocreatine or total creatine (tCr), total choline-containing compounds (tCho), glutamatergic compounds (glutamate+ glutamine), myo-Inositol (mI) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). In this study, 34 children with AS (2-12 years old; mean age5.2 (±2.0); 28 boys and 6 girls) and age and gender-matched 19 healthy control children (2-11 years old; mean age 5.6 (±2.6); 12 boys and 7 girls) were enrolled.
1H MRS was performed and the data obtained from two regions, ACC (anterior cingulate cortex) and left cerebellum. The concentrations of NAA (an indicator of neuronal integrity), tCr (important in energy metabolism) and tCho (involved in cell membrane biosynthesis/degradation), were significantly decreased in ACC of AS, compared to those in controls (p<0.05). In contrast, there were no significant differences in any of the metabolites tested in the left cerebellum.
Decreased concentrations of all metabolites in ACC suggests less abundance of neuronal cells and/or decreased neurochemical activities in the ACC in children with AS. Taken together, 1H MRS may be a possible effective non-invasive tool to characterize detailed neurological function in the brain that can be used to evaluate children with AS.
1H MRS was performed and the data obtained from two regions, ACC (anterior cingulate cortex) and left cerebellum. The concentrations of NAA (an indicator of neuronal integrity), tCr (important in energy metabolism) and tCho (involved in cell membrane biosynthesis/degradation), were significantly decreased in ACC of AS, compared to those in controls (p<0.05). In contrast, there were no significant differences in any of the metabolites tested in the left cerebellum.
Decreased concentrations of all metabolites in ACC suggests less abundance of neuronal cells and/or decreased neurochemical activities in the ACC in children with AS. Taken together, 1H MRS may be a possible effective non-invasive tool to characterize detailed neurological function in the brain that can be used to evaluate children with AS.