title: A quantitative analysis of (1)H-MR spectroscopy at 3.0 T of three brain regions from childhood to middle age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study age-related metabolic changes in different brain regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Point-resolved spectroscopy (repetition time/echo time = 2000 ms/30 ms) was performed in the left and right hippocampus, the left thalamus and the left centrum semiovale of 80 healthy subjects (37 females and 43 males aged 7-64 years). Analysis of covariance and linear regression were used for statistical analysis. Both metabolite concentration ratios with respect to total creatine (tCr) and absolute metabolite concentrations were included for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ins (myo-inositol)/tCr (p < 0.001) and absolute Ins concentration (p = 0.031) were significantly increased with age after adolescence. NAA (N-acetylaspartic acid)/tCr (p < 0.001) and absolute NAA concentration (p = 0.010) significantly declined with age after adolescence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Age-related increase of Ins and decline of NAA are found in all three regions, especially at the hippocampus, indicating possible gliosis in the ageing brain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We could use NAA/tCr and Ins/tCr as an indicator to estimate the neurons-to-glial cells ratio at the thalamus. This may be an index to distinguish normal tissues from gliosis.
authors.affiliation: 1 Laboratory of Biological & Medical Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- & Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.|2 Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Z-Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: 3 Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yue
authors.affiliation: 3 Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: H-Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: 3 Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Q-Y
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: 3 Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: H-Q
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: 3 Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Q-Y
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: 1 Laboratory of Biological & Medical Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- & Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Z-J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: 1 Laboratory of Biological & Medical Physics and Key Laboratory of Artificial Micro- & Nano-structures of Ministry of Education, School of Physics and Technology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Quan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001224:Aspartic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D003404:Creatinine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D007294:Inositol / Q000378:metabolism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005973:Glutamine; D001224:Aspartic Acid; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D007294:Inositol; C000179:N-acetylaspartate; D003404:Creatinine; D020780:Matrix Metalloproteinase 9