Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A multicenter reproducibility study of single-voxel 1H-MRS of the medial temporal lobe

  • Neuro
  • Published:
European Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) has provided evidence for a reduction of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) in the medial temporal lobe (MTL) in cerebral disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease. Within the 1H-MRS study of the German Research Network on Dementia, we determined the multicenter reproducibility of single-voxel 1H-MRS of the MTL. At five sites with 1.5T MR systems, single-voxel 1H spectra from the MTL of an identical healthy subject were measured. The same subject was also examined at one of the sites five times to assess intracenter stability. The protocol included water-suppressed spectra with TE 272 ms and TE 30 ms and unsuppressed spectra for absolute quantification of metabolite concentrations. The intracenter reproducibility of absolute NAA concentration, expressed as coefficient of variation (CV), was 1.8%. CV for the concentrations of creatine (Cr), choline (Cho), and myoinositol (MI) and for the ratios NAA/Cr, NAA/Cho, and MI/NAA varied by 11–16%. Intercenter CV was 3.9% for NAA and were below 10% for all other metabolites and metabolic ratios. Our study demonstrates that quantitative assessment of NAA with single-voxel MRS can be performed with high intercenter reproducibility. This is the basis for applying 1H-MRS in large-scale early recognition and treatment studies in MTL affecting disorders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bonavita S, Di Salle F, Tedeschi G (1999) Proton MRS in neurological disorders. Eur J Radiol 30:125–131

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sijens P, Irwan R, Potze JH, Mostert JP, de Keyser J, Oudkerk M (2005) Analysis of the human brain in primary progressive multiple sclerosis with mapping of the spatial distributions using 1H MR spectroscopy and diffusion tensor imaging. Eur Radiol 15:1686–1693

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Block W, Jessen F, Träber F et al (2002) Regional N-acetylaspartate reduction in the hippocampus detected with fast proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging in patients with Alzheimer disease. Arch Neurol 59:828–834

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Schuff N, Amend D, Ezekiel F et al (1997) Changes of hippocampal N-acetyl aspartate and volume in Alzheimer’s disease. A proton MR spectroscopic imaging and MRI study. Neurology 49:1513–1521

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jessen F, Block W, Träber F et al (2000) Proton MR spectroscopy detects a relative decrease of N-acetylaspartate in the medial temporal lobe of patients with AD. Neurology 55:684–688

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Jessen F, Block W, Träber F et al (2001) Decrease of N-acetylaspartate in the MTL correlates with cognitive decline of AD patients. Neurology 57:930–932

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Engelhardt E, Moreira DM, Laks J, Marinho VM, Rozenthal M, Oliveira AC (2001) [Alzheimer’s disease and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus]. Arq Neuropsiquiatr 59:865–870

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Block W, Träber F, Kuhl CK et al (1995) [1H-MR spectroscopic imaging in patients with clinically diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease]. Röfo Fortschr Geb Röntgenstr Neuen Bildgeb Verfahr 163:230–237

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Schuff N, Capizzano AA, Du AT et al (2002) Selective reduction of N-acetylaspartate in medial temporal and parietal lobes in AD. Neurology 58:928–935

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Dixon RM, Bradley KM, Budge MM, Styles P, Smith AD (2002) Longitudinal quantitative proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the hippocampus in Alzheimer’s disease. Brain 125:2332–2341

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Chantal S, Braun CM, Bouchard RW, Labelle M, Boulanger Y (2004) Similar 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopic metabolic pattern in the medial temporal lobes of patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease. Brain Res 1003:26–35

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Krishnan KR, Charles HC, Doraiswamy PM et al (2003) Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of the effects of donepezil on neuronal markers and hippocampal volumes in Alzheimer’s disease. Am J Psychiatry 160:2003–2011

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Sijens PE, Knopp MV, Brunetti A et al (1995) 1H MR spectroscopy in patients with metastatic brain tumors: a multicenter study. Magn Reson Med 33:818–826

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Negendank WG, Sauter R, Brown TR et al (1996) Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in patients with glial tumors: a multicenter study. J Neurosurg 84:449–458

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Paley M, Cozzonem PJ, Alonso J et al (1996) Multicenter proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of neurological complications of AIDS. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 12:213–222

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Lee PL, Yiannoutsos CT, Ernst T et al (2003) A multicenter 1H MRS study of the AIDS dementia complex: validation and preliminary analysis. J Magn Reson Imaging 17:625–633

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Holshouser BA, Komu M, Moller HE et al (1995) Localized proton NMR spectroscopy in the striatum of patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease: a multicenter pilot study. Magn Reson Med 33:589–594

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Chard DT, McLean MA, Parker GJM, MacManus DG, Miller DH (2002) Reproducibility of in vivo metabolite quantification with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging. J Magn Reson Imaging 15:219–225

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Komoroski RA, Kotrla KJ, Lemen L, Lindquist D, Diaz P, Foundas A (2004) Brain metabolite concentration ratios in vivo: multisite reproducibility by single-voxel 1H MR spectroscopy. Magn Reson Imaging 22:721–725

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Podo F, Henriksen O, Bovee WM, Leach MO, Leibfritz D, de Certaines JD (1998) Absolute metabolite quantification by in vivo NMR spectroscopy: I. Introduction, objectives and activities of a concerted action in biomedical research. Magn Reson Imaging 16:1085–1092

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Keevil SF, Barbiroli B, Brooks JC et al (1998) Absolute metabolite quantification by in vivo NMR spectroscopy: II. A multicentre trial of protocols for in vivo localised proton studies of human brain. Magn Reson Imaging 16:1093–1106

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. de Beer R, Barbiroli B, Gobbi G et al (1998) Absolute metabolite quantification by in vivo NMR spectroscopy: III. Multicentre 1H MRS of the human brain addressed by one and the same data-analysis protocol. Magn Reson Imaging 16:1107–1111

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Bottomley PA (1987) Spatial localization in NMR spectroscopy. Ann NY Acad Sci 508:333–348

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Vanhamme L, van den Boogaart A, van Huffel S (1997) Improved method for accurate and efficient quantification of MRS data with use of prior knowledge. J Magn Reson 129:35–43

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. van den Boogaart A, van Hecke P, van Huffel S, Graveron-Demilly D, van Ormondt D, de Beer R (1996) MRUI: a graphical user interface for accurate routine MRS data analysis. Proc 13th Ann Meeting ESMRMB Prague, Czech Republic, p.318 (abstract)

  26. Bartha R, Drost DJ, Williamson PC (1999) Factors affecting the quantification of short echo in-vivo 1H MR spectra: prior knowledge, peak elimination, and filtering. NMR Biomed 12:205–216

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Naressi A, Couturier C, Devos JM et al (2001) Java-based graphical user interface for the MRUI quantitation package. MAGMA 12:141–152

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Gredal O, Rosenbaum S, Topp S, Karlsborg M, Strange P, Werdelin L (1997) Quantification of brain metabolites in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis by localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Neurology 48:878–881

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Schirmer T, Auer DP (2000) On the reliability of quantitative clinical magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the human brain. NMR Biomed 13:28–36

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Brooks WM, Friedman SD, Stidley CA (1999) Reproducibility of 1H-MRS in vivo. Magn Reson Med 41:193–197

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Li BSY, Wang H, Gonen O (2003) Metabolite ratios to assumed stable creatine level may confound the quantification of proton brain MR spectroscopy. Magn Reson Imaging 21:923–928

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Wellard RM, Briellmann RS, Jennings C, Jackson GD (2005) Physiologic variability of single-voxel proton MR spectroscopic measurements at 3T. Am J Neuroradiol 26:585–590

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Kantarci K, Jack CR, Xu YC et al (2000) Regional metabolic patterns in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease: a 1H MRS study. Neurology 55:210–217

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Shonk TK, Moats RA, Gifford P et al (1995) Probable Alzheimer disease: diagnosis with proton MR spectroscopy. Radiology 195:65–72

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Moats RA, Ernst T, Shonk TK, Ross BD (1994) Abnormal cerebral metabolite concentrations in patients with probable Alzheimer disease. Magn Reson Med 32:110–115

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, D-53105, Bonn, Germany

    Frank Träber, Wolfgang Block, Okan Gür & Hans H. Schild

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

    Nikolaus Freymann, Reinhard Heun & Frank Jessen

  3. Department of Neuroradiology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Thomas Kucinski

  4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

    Thilo Hammen

  5. NMR Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany

    Gabriele Ende

  6. Department of Neuroradiology, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany

    Ulrich Pilatus

  7. Department of Psychiatry, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Harald Hampel

Authors
  1. Frank Träber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wolfgang Block
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nikolaus Freymann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Okan Gür
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Thomas Kucinski
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Thilo Hammen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Gabriele Ende
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Ulrich Pilatus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Harald Hampel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Hans H. Schild
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Reinhard Heun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Frank Jessen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frank Träber.

Additional information

The study is part of the German Research Network on Dementia and was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (grant O1GI 0102)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Träber, F., Block, W., Freymann, N. et al. A multicenter reproducibility study of single-voxel 1H-MRS of the medial temporal lobe. Eur Radiol 16, 1096–1103 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-005-0108-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-005-0108-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation