Fire-related post-traumatic stress disorder: brain 1H-MR spectroscopic findings.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the MR imaging and (1)H-MR spectroscopic findings of acute fire-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).


METHODS
Sixteen patients (M:F=10:6; mean age, 16 years) with fire-related PTSD underwent MR imaging and (1)H-MR spectroscopy, and for control purposes, the procedures were repeated in eight age-matched normal volunteers. In all patients and controls, the regions of interest where data were acquired at MRS were the basal ganglia (BG), frontal periventricular white matter (FWM), and parietal periventricular white matter (PWM).


RESULTS
In all patients with PTSD, MR images appeared normal. In contrast, MRS showed that in the BG, NAA/Cr ratios were significantly lower in patients than in volunteers. This decrease did not, however, show close correlation with the severity of the neuropsychiatric symptoms. In patients, neither NAA/Cr ratios in FWM nor PWM, nor Cho/Cr ratios in all three regions, were significantly different from those in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
Decreased NAA/Cr ratios in the BG, as seen at (1)H-MRS, might be an early sign of acute fire-related PTSD.
Lim
Myung Kwan
MK
Department of Radiology, Inha University Hospital College of Medicine, Choong-gu, Incheon, Korea.
Suh
Chang Hae
CH
Kim
Hyung Jin
HJ
Kim
Sung Tae
ST
Lee
Jeong Seop
JS
Kang
Min Hee
MH
Kim
Ji Hye
JH
Lee
Jung Hee
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005390:Fires; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology
D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine