MAGNETIC-RESONANCE SPECTROSCOPY - A NEW T ECHNIQUE FOR BRAIN METABOLISM EXPLORATION IN CHILDREN

In vivo nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been develop ed recently in order to analyze brain metabolism in adults and childre n. After a short presentation of the methods and of the metabolic sign als detected by phosphorus and proton MRS of the brain, the impact of MRS in pediatrics is examined with two main indications: the study of cerebral maturation in normal or pathological neonates, and the study of inborn metabolic encephalopathies. In the near future, brain MRS wi ll be performed routinely after conventional MRI, and will become a va luable metabolic complement to the anatomical evaluation of cerebral p athologies.