[31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy(MRS) study in basal ganglia of patients with Parkinson's disease].

We report 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy(MRS) to study regional high energy phosphate and phospholipid metabolism in basal ganglia of patients with Parkinson's disease(PD) in comparison with normal controls. The ratio of phosphomonoester(PME)/phosphocreatine(PCr), phosphodiester(PDE)/PCr and total Adenosine triphosphate(ATP) tend to decrease and the ratio of PDE/PME tend to elevate compared with controls. Moreover these findings are correlated with the duration of illness. Our results suggest that neural elements in basal ganglia may be damaged in PD. In conclusion, 31P-MRS appears to be useful for the study of neural damage and degeneration in vivo.