Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the medial prefrontal cortex in patients with deficit schizophrenia: preliminary report.
OBJECTIVE
Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used to study medial prefrontal metabolic impairments in schizophrenic patients with the deficit syndrome.


METHODS
The subjects were 22 schizophrenic patients categorized as deficit (N=5) or nondeficit (N=17) and 21 healthy subjects. (1)H-MRS was performed for the right and the left medial prefrontal cortex.


RESULTS
The patients with the deficit syndrome had significantly lower ratios of N-acetylaspartate to creatine plus phosphocreatine than did the healthy subjects or nondeficit patients.


CONCLUSIONS
As N-acetylaspartate levels could reflect neuronal density and/or viability, this finding suggests a neuronal loss in the medial prefrontal cortex of deficit patients.
Delamillieure
P
P
Groupe de Recherche Centre Esquirol, Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire, Caen, France.
Fernandez
J
J
Constans
J M
JM
Brazo
P
P
Benali
K
K
Abadie
P
P
Vasse
T
T
Thibaut
F
F
Courthéoux
P
P
Petit
M
M
Dollfus
S
S
D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D002452:Cell Count; D003401:Creatine / Q000032:analysis*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology; D010725:Phosphocreatine / Q000032:analysis*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
D010725:Phosphocreatine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine