title: An investigation of neuronal integrity in severe paediatric traumatic brain injury.
abstract: Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) and its association with neuropsychological functioning was examined in the chronic injury phase of paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). Fifteen children, aged 10-16 years, with severe TBIs were compared with 15 controls, matched for age and gender. The TBI group was found to have significantly lower levels of -acetyl aspartate (NAA) and Choline (Cho) in the right frontal lobe and generally displayed reduced performances on neuropsychological tests. A correlation between metabolites and reaction times was also obtained. Findings indicate a role of proton MRS as a measure of neuronal integrity following severe paediatric TBI and suggest a potential association of MRS with specific neuropsychological impairments.
authors.affiliation: Rehabilitation Department, The Children's Hosptial at Westmead, Australia.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shores
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rae
authors.forename: Allan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kemp
authors.forename: Mary-Clare
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Waugh
authors.forename: Ray
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chaseling
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Joy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011930:Reaction Time; D012016:Reference Values; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline