title: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of N-acetylaspartate in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.
abstract: Magnetic resonance imaging and water-suppressed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging were used to study N-acetylaspartate and other metabolites in a patient with severe hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The N-acetylaspartate signal, a putative marker of neuronal density, was markedly reduced in the forebrain. The relative signal intensity of choline-containing metabolites, which are more abundant in astrocytes than neurons, was increased. These results support the hypothesis that water-suppressed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging measurements of N-acetylaspartate may be useful for noninvasive detection of selective neuronal loss in a variety of disease states in the human brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of California-San Francisco.
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Meyerhoff
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bayne
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Weiner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D002534:Hypoxia, Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate