Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
To analyze the metabolic constitution of brain areas through proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in children affected with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder compared with normal children.



The sample of this case-control study included eight boys with epidemiologic history of in utero exposure to alcohol (median age 13.6+/-3.8 years) who were diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, and eight controls (median age 12.1+/-3,4 years). An 8 cm(3) single voxel approach was used, with echo time 30 ms, repetition time 1500 ms, and 128 acquisitions in a 1.5T scanner, and four brain areas were analyzed: anterior cingulate, left frontal lobe, left striatum, and left cerebellar hemisphere. Peaks and ratios of metabolites N-acetylaspartate, choline, creatine, and myo-inositol were measured.



Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder showed a decrease in choline/creatine ratio (p=0.020) in left striatum and an increase in myo-inositol/creatine ratio (p=0.048) in left cerebellum compared with controls. There was no statistically significant difference in all peaks and ratios from the anterior cingulate and frontal lobe between the two groups.



This study found evidence that the left striatum and left cerebellum are affected by intrauterine exposure to alcohol. Additional studies with larger samples are necessary to expand our knowledge of the effects of fetal exposure to alcohol.
Gonçalves
Rita de Cássia Ferreira
Rde C
Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ, Brazil. rcgonc@hotmail.com
Vasconcelos
Marcio Moacyr
MM
Faleiros
Letícia Oliveira
LO
Cruz
Luiz Celso Hygino da
LC
Domingues
Romeu Cortes
RC
Brito
Adriana Rocha
AR
Werner
Jairo
J
Herdy
Gesmar Volga Haddad
GV
D000293:Adolescent; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy