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. 2011 Feb;33(2):306-11.
doi: 10.1002/jmri.22460.

MR spectroscopy of normative premature newborns

Duan Xu  1 , Sonia L Bonifacio, Natalie N Charlton, Charles P Vaughan, Ying Lu, Donna M Ferriero, Daniel B Vigneron, A James Barkovich
Affiliations

MR spectroscopy of normative premature newborns

Duan Xu et al. J Magn Reson Imaging. 2011 Feb.

Abstract

Purpose: To establish normative metabolite ratios throughout the newborn brain using three-dimensional (3D) MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI).

Materials and methods: MRI and MRSI have been valuable tools for assessing normal and abnormal neuronal maturation for newborns. In this study, we performed whole brain 3D MRSI in addition to comprehensive anatomic and other functional imaging methods to examine maturation. Fifty-five newborn subjects (28.4 ± 2.6 weeks postconception age at birth, 34.1 ± 3.1 weeks postconception age at scan, 32 males and 23 females) had high quality MRSI studies (104 exams) and normal neurodevelopmental outcome (neuromotor score = 0, mental development index score > 85) at age 12 months.

Results: The NAA to Cho ratio increased significantly with age for all regions. Lac to NAA ratio decreased significantly with age in the regions of thalamus, basal ganglia, cortical spinal tract, and parietal white matter, and showed a decreasing trend in the other regions.

Conclusion: Brain metabolites can be obtained through in vivo 3D MRSI and used to monitor newborn brain maturation.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
ROI’s in basal ganglia (0,1), thalamus (2,3), visual association tract (4,5), calcarine grey matter (6,7), corticospinal tract (8,9), parietal white matter (10,11), and frontal white matter (12,13), drawn on the T2 images.
Figure 2
Figure 2
A selected processed spectral array with corresponding T2 image that is representative of data acquired from the patient population. The subject was born after 32 weeks of gestation and scanned at 34 weeks.
Figure 3
Figure 3
NAA to Cho ratio change with age. All regions showed significant increase (p<0.001) with age as NAA increases and Cho decreases through brain maturation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Lac to NAA ratio decreased with age in the regions of THAL, BG, CST, and PWM, and showed a decreasing trend in the other regions.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Lac to Cho ratio only decreased significantly with age for CST, and varied differently for other regions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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