title: Thalamic metabolic abnormalities in patients with Huntington's disease measured by magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
abstract: Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurologic disorder that is not completely understood; its fundamental physiological mechanisms and chemical effects remain somewhat unclear. Among these uncertainties, we can highlight information about the concentrations of brain metabolites, which have been widely discussed. Concentration differences in affected, compared to healthy, individuals could lead to the development of useful tools for evaluating the progression of disease, or to the advance of investigations of different/alternative treatments. The aim of this study was to compare the thalamic concentration of metabolites in HD patients and healthy individuals using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We used a 2.0-Tesla magnetic field, repetition time of 1500 ms, and echo time of 135 ms. Spectra from 40 adult HD patients and 26 control subjects were compared. Quantitative analysis was performed using the LCModel method. There were statistically significant differences between HD patients and controls in the concentrations of N-acetylaspartate+N-acetylaspartylglutamate (NAA+NAAG; t-test, P<0.001), and glycerophosphocholine+phosphocholine (GPC+PCh; t-test, P=0.001) relative to creatine+phosphocreatine (Cr+PCr). The NAA+NAAG/Cr+PCr ratio was decreased by 9% and GPC+PCh/Cr+PCr increased by 17% in patients compared with controls. There were no correlations between the concentration ratios and clinical features. Although these results could be caused by T1 and T2 changes, rather than variations in metabolite concentrations given the short repetition time and long echo time values used, our findings point to thalamic dysfunction, corroborating prior evidence.
authors: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Departamento de Raios Cósmicos e Cronologia, Instituto de Física "Gleb Wataghin", CampinasSP, Brasil.
authors: R F
authors: RF
authors: Casseb
authors: A
authors: A
authors: D'Abreu
authors: H H
authors: HH
authors: Ruocco
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Lopes-Cendes
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Cendes
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Castellano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003401:Creatine / Q000032:analysis; D003903:Deuterium; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D005997:Glycerylphosphorylcholine / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D010725:Phosphocreatine / Q000032:analysis; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000032:analysis; D013786:Thalamic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018911:Trinucleotide Repeats; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004151:Dipeptides; D010725:Phosphocreatine; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; C027172:isospaglumic acid; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D005997:Glycerylphosphorylcholine; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003903:Deuterium; D003401:Creatine
references: Neurology. 2007 Mar 20;68(12):906-10
references: 17372125
references: NMR Biomed. 2000 May;13(3):129-53
references: 10861994
references: Mov Disord. 1996 Mar;11(2):167-73
references: 8684387
references: BMC Cancer. 2007 Jul 27;7:141
references: 17662122
references: J Neurotrauma. 2001 Oct;18(10):977-91
references: 11686498
references: Epilepsia. 2000 Jun;41(6):666-74
references: 10840397
references: Lancet Neurol. 2006 Jul;5(7):589-602
references: 16781989
references: NMR Biomed. 2005 Oct;18(6):371-82
references: 15959923
references: NMR Biomed. 2001 Aug;14(5):325-31
references: 11477653
references: Neurology. 2010 Nov 9;75(19):1702-10
references: 21060093
references: Nat Genet. 1993 Aug;4(4):387-92
references: 8401587
references: Epilepsia. 2010 May;51(5):783-8
references: 19845737
references: Biochim Biophys Acta. 2010 Jan;1802(1):151-61
references: 19683569
references: Mov Disord. 2007 Oct 31;22(14):2052-6
references: 17702030
references: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1997 Jan;62(1):27-30
references: 9010396
references: Brain Res. 2007 Sep 7;1168:67-71
references: 17707354
references: Cereb Cortex. 2005 Jun;15(6):846-53
references: 15459079
references: Brain Res. 2005 Jan 7;1031(1):82-9
references: 15621015
references: Neurology. 1999 Sep 11;53(4):806-12
references: 10489045
references: Neurology. 1998 May;50(5):1357-65
references: 9595987
references: Mov Disord. 2001 May;16(3):407-23
references: 11391734
references: Magn Reson Med. 1993 Dec;30(6):672-9
references: 8139448
references: J Bioenerg Biomembr. 2010 Jun;42(3):227-34
references: 20454921
references: Artif Intell Med. 2004 May;31(1):73-89
references: 15182848
references: J Magn Reson Imaging. 2004 May;19(5):537-45
references: 15112302
references: Lancet. 2007 Jan 20;369(9557):218-28
references: 17240289
references: Neurology. 1998 Apr;50(4):1033-40
references: 9566391
references: NMR Biomed. 2001 Jun;14(4):278-83
references: 11410946