Metabolite Changes in Normal Appearing Cervical Spinal Cord in Two Patients with Multiple Sclerosis. A Proton MR...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Biochemistry
• Neurology

Background:

• Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurological disease.
• Spinal cord involvement is common in MS.
• Early detection of MS-related changes is crucial for prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of Proton MR Spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in detecting biochemical alterations in the normal-appearing cervical spinal cord of MS patients.
• To compare metabolite ratios in MS patients with those in healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• (1)H-MRS was performed on two MS patients with the voxel placed along the cervical spinal cord.
• Relative metabolite concentrations (tNAA, Cho, mI, Cr) were analyzed.
• Metabolite ratios were compared between MS patients and ten healthy volunteers.

Main Results:

• Patient 1 showed increased myo-inositol/creatine (mI/Cr) and choline/creatine (Cho/Cr) ratios.
• Patient 2 exhibited decreased total NAA/creatine (NAA/Cr) and total NAA/choline (NAA/Cho) ratios.
• (1)H-MRS revealed distinct biochemical changes in the spinal cord of MS patients.

Conclusions:

• (1)H-MRS can identify biochemical changes in the normal-appearing spinal cord of MS patients.
• These metabolic alterations may serve as biomarkers for MS prognosis.
• The findings support the use of (1)H-MRS for assessing MS pathophysiology.