Regional Differences in the Concentrations of Metabolites in the Brain of Healthy Children: A Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1HMRS) Study

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundThe aim of this 1HMRS study was to identify any potential regional differences in the metabolic spectrum in the brains of healthy children.Material/MethodsForty-nine healthy children aged 6–15 years (mean 11.6 years) were examined, including 21 girls and 28 boys. A 1.5T MR system (xi Signa HD 1.5T General Electric) was used in patient examinations. The VOI (Volume of Interest) was defined in 7 locations: the frontal lobe in the right and left hemispheres, the basal ganglia in the right and left hemispheres, hippocampus in the right and left hemispheres and cerebellum. SAGE 7.0 software was used for the analysis of data obtained from the 1HMRS study. Differences in the concentrations of metabolites in various regions of the brain in children were verified using the t-test for independent samples.ResultsThere were significant differences in concentration levels between various brain regions for all the examined metabolites. NAA was the metabolite characterized by the greatest regional variation with significant differences being observed between all locations. Only in the case of Lip/Cr and the ratio of the Lip concentration to the sum of the concentrations of all the metabolites no significant differences could be observed.ConcluisonsThe results of the study show that a child’s brain is inhomogeneous. The results underline the need of the regional differences in the concentrations of metabolites being taken into account when comparing the results of 1HMRS studies in children.

Sex differences in brain metabolite concentrations in healthy children – proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study (¹HMRS)

“…Moreover, in some studies the percentage of women among the examined subjects was low [ 9 ]. Comparisons of examination results obtained by various research teams are difficult because the spectroscopic signatures were collected from different locations [ 24 , 27 ] and then the results were presented in various forms [ 15 , 12 ]. In this paper the results are presented in three ways: as the absolute values of the specific metabolite concentrations, and as the ratios of metabolite concentrations to Cr concentrations and to the total concentrations of all the metabolites.…”

MR spectroscopy in pediatric neuroradiology

“…The spectra show variation in metabolites concentrations also according to the brain region studied (e.g., cerebellum, basal ganglia, white matter, or gray matter) (21,22). For instance, NAA and Cr have higher concentration in the gray matter, while Choline in the white matter; NAA concentration is lower in cerebellum, total Choline (tCho) is higher in frontal white matter (Figure 5A,B), pons, and in terminal zones of myelination (23).…”