Role of Multivoxel MR Spectroscopy Progressive Supranuclear Palsy - A Preliminary Study

Progressive supranuclear palsy [PSP] is a neurodegenerative condition with characteristic clinical and imaging features.

This is an exploratory MRS study to look at metabolic changes that occur due to the disease by using MR spectroscopic methods in subtypes of the PSP, that is, classic [PSP-c] and Parkinsonian [PSP-p].

A total of 12 PSPs subjects were included in this study, of which 8 subjects were clinically diagnosed as PSP-C and 4 subjects with PSP-P. We also included 6 healthy controls to compare metabolites between PSP groups. A multi-voxel MRS was performed using the Philips 3T MRI system, and postprocessing and metabolic peak fitting and quantification were performed using the Tarquin spectroscopic data-processing software. Individual patient MRS ratios of various metabolites were tabulated and analyzed to look for metabolic differences between these groups.

Significant differences were noted in various neurometabolites including GABA, Glutamate, Glutamine, Tau and NAA / creatinine ratio.

Our preliminary findings indicate that MRS may act as an in vivo metabolic biomarker in various pathological conditions. Alteration and distribution of these metabolites may act as a marker for symptomatology and clinical presentation. MRS also has the potential for use in prognostic or in assessing the treatment response.