1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the normal testis: preliminary findings.
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.
Firat
Ahmet Kemal
AK
Department of Radiology, Inonu University School of Medicine, 44069 Malatya, Turkey. akfirat@inonu.edu.tr <akfirat@inonu.edu.tr>
Uğraş
Murat
M
Karakaş
Hakki M
HM
Erdem
Gülnur
G
Kurus
Meltem
M
Ugras
Meltem
M
Celik
Tayfun
T
Kahraman
Bayram
B
Doğanay
Selim
S
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*
D002794:Choline