title: MR spectroscopic pulvinar sign in a case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
abstract: We report MR spectroscopic findings in a patient hospitalized with biopsy-proven variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vCJD) disease. N-acetyl aspartate was markedly decreased in the postero-medial part of the thalami (pulvinar) but was not diminished in the parieto-occipital white matter and cortical grey matter. These observations, which are in accordance with the pathological findings in this disease, suggest that MR spectroscopy, a highly sensitive method for the detection of subtle brain metabolic dysfunction, could be of interest for the diagnosis, prognosis and therapeutic follow-up of vCJD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, Centre de Résonance Magnétique Biologique et Médicale CNRS UMR 6612, Faculté de Médecine, Marseille. galanaud@dat.org
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galanaud
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dormont
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grabli
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hauw
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lubetzki
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Brandel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marsault
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Cozzone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002794:Choline / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D003401:Creatine / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D007562:Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007294:Inositol / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010725:Phosphocreatine / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D011379:Prognosis; D020649:Pulvinar / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D010725:Phosphocreatine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D007294:Inositol; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline