REGIONAL METABOLIC CHANGES IN BRAIN TISSUE IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

Abstract

Applying the advanced techniques in MRi diagnostic of multiple sclerosis (MS) open an opportunity to assess functional changes in tissue without anatomical changes that conventional MRi provides. One of this techniques is proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) that provides tissue metabolic information in volume of interest (voxel). Multi-voxel mode allows simultaneous acquisition of 1H-MRS data from multiple voxels not only in lesions, but also in the normal-appearing white matter. At the same time results of 1H-MRS researches of numerous groups are contradictory, in present study metabolite concentrations ratio of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) and choline (Cho) to creatine (Cr) in supraventricular plane were assessed by multi-voxel 1H-MRS in 10 patients with relapsing-remitting MS and 10 healthy subjects. Statistical analysis showed than metabolic changes occuring in patients with MS are inhomogeneous and depends on localization of volume of interest. This fact allow to explain inconsistency in literature results. 1H-MRS provides the existence of metabolic changes even in normal-appearing regions and demonstrate dissemination of pathological process outside lesions even on early stages of MS.