title: 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the normal testis: preliminary findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine the pre- and postpubertal 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic characteristics of the normal testis to establish baseline values for further clinical studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects consisted of male volunteers, of whom 19 were prepubertal with ages between 7 and 13 years and 24 were postpubertal with ages between 19 and 39 years. Their testes were evaluated at 1.5 T with magnetic resonance spectroscopy; in addition, testis volumes were measured. Major metabolite peaks were identified and their ratios were calculated. Metabolite differences of testis between pre- and postpubertal age were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Major constituents of spectra were 3.21 ppm choline and 0.9-1.3 ppm lipid peaks. At the echo time (TE) spectrum of 31 ms, choline/lipid ratios ranged from 0.35 to 8.30 (mean=1.87) in postpubertal males and from 0.06 to 5.45 (mean=0.88) in prepubertal males (P<.013). At the TE spectrum of 136 ms, choline/lipid ratios ranged from 0.66 to 15.42 (mean=4.09) in postpubertal males and from 0.05 to 4.91 (mean=0.9) in prepubertal males (P<.016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Choline/lipid ratio was higher in the postpubertal period. The existence of higher choline peak in that age group should be due to the initiation of spermatogenesis. The decrease in the lipid peak may represent the effect of testosterone on testicular tissue or may be due to histochemical changes initiated by puberty. The significant decrease in choline/lipid ratio noted after puberty could represent the presence of spermatogenesis. This hypothesis should be evaluated by further studies on postpubertal subjects with impaired spermatogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Inonu University School of Medicine, 44069 Malatya, Turkey. akfirat@inonu.edu.tr <akfirat@inonu.edu.tr>
authors.forename: Ahmet Kemal
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Firat
authors.forename: Murat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uğraş
authors.forename: Hakki M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Karakaş
authors.forename: Gülnur
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Erdem
authors.forename: Meltem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurus
authors.forename: Meltem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ugras
authors.forename: Tayfun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Celik
authors.forename: Bayram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kahraman
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Doğanay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002794:Choline