title: Evaluation of neuron-glia integrity by in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy: Implications for psychiatric disorders.
abstract: Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) has been widely applied in human studies. There is now a large literature describing findings of brain MRS studies with mental disorder patients including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and anxiety disorders. However, the findings are mixed and cannot be reconciled by any of the existing interpretations. Here we proposed the new theory of neuron-glia integrity to explain the findings of brain1H-MRS stuies. It proposed the neurochemical correlates of neuron-astrocyte integrity and axon-myelin integrity on the basis of update of neurobiological knowledge about neuron-glia communication and of experimental MRS evidence for impairments in neuron-glia integrity from the authors and the other investigators. Following the neuron-glia integrity theories, this review collected evidence showing that glutamate/glutamine change is a good marker for impaired neuron-astrocyte integrity and that changes in N-acetylaspartate and lipid precursors reflect impaired myelination. Moreover, this new theory enables us to explain the differences between MRS findings in neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.
authors.affiliation: The Mental Health Center, Shantou University Medical College, China. Electronic address: hyxu@stu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Haiyun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: The Mental Health Center, Shantou University Medical College, China.
authors.forename: Handi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Mental Health Center, Shantou University Medical College, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The Mental Health Center, Shantou University Medical College, China.
authors.forename: Qingjun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: The Department of Radiology, the second affiliated hospital, Shantou University Medical College, China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: The Department of Radiology, the second affiliated hospital, Shantou University Medical College, China.
authors.forename: Renhua
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D005973:Glutamine; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D001523:Mental Disorders; D009457:Neuroglia; D009474:Neurons; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D005973:Glutamine; D018698:Glutamic Acid
keywords: MRS; Neurodegenerative disorders; Neurometabolites; Neuron-glia integrity; Psychiatric disorders