TY - JOUR
T1 - Regional metabolite concentrations in human brain as determined by quantitative localized proton MRS
AU - Pouwels, Petra J.W.
AU - Frahm, Jens
PY - 1998/1/1
Y1 - 1998/1/1
N2 - The regional distribution of brain metabolites was studied in several cortical white and gray matter areas, cerebellum, and thalamus of young adults with use of quantitative single-voxel proton MRS at 2.0 T. Whereas the neuronal compound N-acetylaspartate is distributed homogeneously throughout the brain, N-acetylaspartylglutamate increases caudally and exhibits higher concentrations in white matter than in gray matter. Creatine, myo-inositol, glutamate, and glutamine are less concentrated in cortical white matter than in gray matter. The highest creatine levels are found in cerebellum, parallel to the distribution of creatine kinase and energy-requiring processes in the brain. Also myo-inositol has highest concentrations in the cerebellum. Choline-containing compounds exhibit a marked regional variability with again highest concentrations in cerebellum and lowest levels and a strong caudally decreasing gradient in gray matter. The present findings neither support a metabolic gender difference (except for a 1.3-fold higher myo-inositol level in parietal white matter of female subjects) nor a metabolic hemispheric asymmetry.
AB - The regional distribution of brain metabolites was studied in several cortical white and gray matter areas, cerebellum, and thalamus of young adults with use of quantitative single-voxel proton MRS at 2.0 T. Whereas the neuronal compound N-acetylaspartate is distributed homogeneously throughout the brain, N-acetylaspartylglutamate increases caudally and exhibits higher concentrations in white matter than in gray matter. Creatine, myo-inositol, glutamate, and glutamine are less concentrated in cortical white matter than in gray matter. The highest creatine levels are found in cerebellum, parallel to the distribution of creatine kinase and energy-requiring processes in the brain. Also myo-inositol has highest concentrations in the cerebellum. Choline-containing compounds exhibit a marked regional variability with again highest concentrations in cerebellum and lowest levels and a strong caudally decreasing gradient in gray matter. The present findings neither support a metabolic gender difference (except for a 1.3-fold higher myo-inositol level in parietal white matter of female subjects) nor a metabolic hemispheric asymmetry.
KW - Brain metabolism
KW - Cerebral metabolite distribution
KW - Proton spectroscopy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0031985750&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/mrm.1910390110
DO - 10.1002/mrm.1910390110
M3 - Article
C2 - 9438437
AN - SCOPUS:0031985750
VL - 39
SP - 53
EP - 60
JO - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
JF - Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
SN - 0740-3194
IS - 1
ER -