Quantitative proton-decoupled 31P MRS of the schizophrenic brain in vivo

Quantitative proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) and proton-decoupled phosphorus MRS were applied in the parietal cortex of 13 schizophrenic subjects (11 drug-treated and 2 neuroleptic-naive) and 15 normal control subjects. Significantly increased concentrations of glycerophosphorylcholine (1.18 +/- 0.16 vs. 0.93 +/- 0.14 mmol/kg brain; p < 0.001), glycerophosphoethanolomine (0.70 +/- 0.19 vs. 0.59 +/- 0.07 mmol/kg; p < 0.04), and phosphocreatine (3.73 +/- 0.39 vs. 3.41 +/- 0.13 mmol/kg; p < 0.007), but no differences in N-acetylaspartate, total creatine, or myo-inositol, were determined in treated schizophrenic subjects. Identical abnormalities were found in two neuroleptic-naive patients. These results provide new evidence of disordered cerebral membrane and high energy phosphate metabolism in schizophrenia.