Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain in pediatric patients

I-Ii-MRS is a non-invasive technique which provides different levels of inf ormation on brain tissue: the N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) is an indicator of n euronal development, the choline containing compound peak (Cho) provides in formation on myelination and on cell membrane turnover and gliosis, inosito l (Ins) is considered a marker of neuronal degeneration. Lactate may be det ected in presence of defective energy metabolism. In the perineonatal perio d, the brain is apt to be insulted by a variety of events including asphyxi a, hypoxemia, hemorrhage, which may subsequently cause delay in development . It is clinically important to assess the degree of brain damage and to ob tain the prognostic information in the neonatal and early infantile period. MRS has become available for clinical examinations of the brain during dev elopment and these tecniques can be used to document improvement or the pro gression towards irreversible damage. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd . All rights reserved.