Vasconcelos Marcio Moacyr, Brito Adriana Rocha, Domingues Romeu Cortes, da Cruz Luiz Celso Hygino, Gasparetto Emerson L, Werner Jairo, Gonçalves João Pedro Sevalho
Departamento Materno-Infantil, Hospital Universitário Antônio Pedro, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
J Neuroimaging. 2008 Jul;18(3):288-95. doi: 10.1111/j.1552-6569.2007.00200.x.
This study aims to assess cerebral metabolites in school-aged autistic patients through proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
This case-control study included 10 right-handed male children (median age, 9.53 years +/- 1.80) with autism according to DSM-IV criteria, and 10 healthy age- and sex-matched healthy controls (median age, 8.52 years +/- 1.42). Imaging was performed on a 1.5-T scanner utilizing a single voxel point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) technique (TR = 1,500 ms, TE = 30 ms). Four cerebral areas were evaluated: bilateral anterior cingulate, left striatum, left cerebellar hemisphere, and left frontal lobe. Peak areas and ratios to creatine (Cr) of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), and myo-inositol (mI) were analyzed.
Compared with controls, autistic children showed a significant increase in mI (P= .021) and Cho (P= .042) peak areas in anterior cingulate and in mI/Cr ratio in anterior cingulate (P= .037) and left striatum (P= .035). The remaining metabolites and ratios were not significantly different between the 2 groups.
This study found a statistically significant increase in myo-inositol and choline in anterior cingulate and left striatum of autistic children compared with controls. In contrast to previous studies, NAA peak area and NAA/Cr and NAA/Cho ratios had no statistically significant decrease in any of the 4 brain regions.
本研究旨在通过质子磁共振波谱评估学龄期自闭症患者的脑代谢物。
本病例对照研究纳入了10名根据《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版（DSM-IV）标准诊断为自闭症的右利手男性儿童（中位年龄9.53岁±1.80），以及10名年龄和性别匹配的健康对照儿童（中位年龄8.52岁±1.42）。成像在1.5-T扫描仪上进行，采用单体素点分辨波谱（PRESS）技术（重复时间[TR]=1500毫秒，回波时间[TE]=30毫秒）。评估了四个脑区：双侧前扣带回、左侧纹状体、左侧小脑半球和左侧额叶。分析了N-乙酰天门冬氨酸（NAA）、胆碱（Cho）和肌醇（mI）的峰值面积以及与肌酸（Cr）的比值。
与对照组相比，自闭症儿童前扣带回的mI（P = 0.021）和Cho（P = 0.042）峰值面积以及前扣带回（P = 0.037）和左侧纹状体（P = 0.035）的mI/Cr比值显著增加。两组之间其余的代谢物和比值没有显著差异。
本研究发现，与对照组相比，自闭症儿童前扣带回和左侧纹状体中的肌醇和胆碱在统计学上显著增加。与先前的研究不同，在四个脑区中的任何一个中，NAA峰值面积以及NAA/Cr和NAA/Cho比值均无统计学上的显著降低。
