title: Regional variations and the effects of age and gender on glutamate concentrations in the human brain.
abstract: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed at 3 T using the echo time-averaged point-resolved spectroscopy method to determine the effects of age, gender and brain region on glutamate (Glu) concentrations in the healthy human brain. Thirty healthy men and 20 healthy women aged between 21 and 71 years were studied. Significant regional variations of Glu concentrations were observed. Glu concentration in the gray matter (GM) was approximately 25% higher than that in the white matter. Significant age-dependent decreases in Glu concentrations were observed in the basal ganglia (r=-0.75, P<.001) and parietal GM (r=-0.66, P<.001) of men but not those of women. Our findings demonstrate regional variations of Glu concentrations and suggest that the male brain may be more vulnerable to aging than the female brain. Our results also highlight the importance of brain region, age and gender matching in clinical studies.
authors: Department of Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA. sailasuta@hmri.org
authors: Napapon
authors: N
authors: Sailasuta
authors: Thomas
authors: T
authors: Ernst
authors: Linda
authors: L
authors: Chang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D018698:Glutamic Acid
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