title: MR spectroscopy in sinus mucocele: N-acetyl mimics of brain N-acetylaspartate.
abstract: We describe MR spectroscopy in 2 patients with frontal sinus mucoceles that showed a dominant metabolite peak at 2.0-ppm chemical shift, simulating N-acetylaspartate (NAA) of normal neuronal tissue. In vitro analysis of postsurgical mucocele samples confirmed that the signal at 2.0 ppm was arising from the methyl moiety of an N-acetyl compound. This is probably caused by N-acetylgalactosamine or N-acetylglucosamine, which are glycoproteins found in normal respiratory mucus produced by the paranasal sinus epithelium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroradiology, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Andre
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Siow
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Yeo
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: C C T
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D000116:Acetylgalactosamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000117:Acetylglucosamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005626:Frontal Sinus; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D009078:Mucocele / Q000378:metabolism*; D010254:Paranasal Sinus Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D000116:Acetylgalactosamine; D000117:Acetylglucosamine