title: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the medial prefrontal cortex in patients with deficit schizophrenia: preliminary report.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Groupe de Recherche Centre Esquirol, Centre Hospitalier et Universitaire, Caen, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Delamillieure
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fernandez
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Constans
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brazo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Benali
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Abadie
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vasse
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Thibaut
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Courthéoux
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petit
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dollfus
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D010725:Phosphocreatine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine