title: N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) as a correlate of pharmacological treatment in psychiatric disorders: a systematic review.
abstract: The amino-acid N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) is located in neurons and the concentration of NAA correlates with neuronal mitochondrial function. The signal of NAA, as measured with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), is considered to reflect both, neuronal density and integrity of neuronal mitochondria. A reduction of the NAA concentrations has been found in several psychiatric disorders. Newer studies report reversal of decreased NAA concentration with treatment. The objective of this review is to summarize the literature on NAA changes in association with psychopharmacological treatment in psychiatric disorders (affective disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and dementia). The majority of studies identified increased NAA concentrations in response to treatment, while a smaller number of studies did not find this effect. The NAA increase seems to be neither specific for a certain disorder nor for a specific intervention. This suggests that the reduction of NAA may represent an altered functional (metabolic) state of neurons common to different psychiatric disorders and the increase after treatment to indicate functional restoration as one general effect of interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Paslakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Träber
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roberz
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Bonn, Germany.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Block
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Germany; German Center for Neurogenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: frank.jessen@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jessen
mesh_terms: D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D001224:Aspartic Acid; C000179:N-acetylaspartate
keywords: Affective disorder; Alzheimer dementia; N-acetyl-aspartate; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Proton-MR-spectroscopy; Schizophrenia