Cerebral metabolite differences in adolescents with low birth weight: assessment with in vivo proton MR spectroscopy.
BACKGROUND
Children with very low birth weight (VLBW) have a significantly increased risk of later neurodevelopmental problems, while infants born small for gestational age (SGA) at term are also at some risk of developing neurological impairment.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate possible brain metabolite differences in adolescents with VLBW, SGA at term and controls by proton in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 1.5 T.


METHODS
MR spectra were acquired from volumes localized in the left frontal lobe, containing mainly white matter (54 subjects). Peak areas of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline (Cho) and creatine (Cr) were determined, and the peak area ratio of NAA to Cr, total Cho to Cr, or NAA to Cho calculated. Probabilistic neural network (PNN) analysis was performed utilizing the chemical shift region containing resonances from NAA, Cho and Cr as inputs.


RESULTS
No significant difference in the peak area ratios could be found using the Kruskal-Wallis test. By application of PNN, a correct classification of 52 of the 54 adolescents with a sensitivity and specificity exceeding 93% for all groups was achieved.


CONCLUSIONS
Small, yet systematic, differences in brain metabolite distribution among the groups were confirmed by PNN analysis.
Bathen
Tone F
TF
Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway. tone.f.bathen@ntnu.no
Sjöbakk
Torill E
TE
Skranes
Jon
J
Brubakk
Ann-Mari
AM
Vik
Torstein
T
Martinussen
Marit
M
Myhr
Gunnar E
GE
Gribbestad
Ingrid S
IS
Axelson
David
D
D000293:Adolescent; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism*; D003401:Creatine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000378:metabolism*; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight / Q000378:metabolism*; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer
D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003401:Creatine; D002794:Choline