H-1 chemical shift imaging of the human brain at age 60-90 years reveals metabolic differences between women and men

H-1 magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to compare brain metabolism in 540 elderly persons, stratified by sex and age (60-90 years old). An 8 x 8 x 2 cm(3) supraventricular brain volume, a transverse plane parallel to th e canthomeatal line, was examined by automated H-1 chemical shift imaging [ point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS), TE of 35 msec], Regional choline (Cho) , creatine (Cr), and N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) peak areas in the 518 success ful examinations (96%) were studied by division through the total area of t he particular metabolite in each spectral map. This procedure eliminated in tersubject variance, maximized intervoxel variance (26 less than or equal t o F less than or equal to 149, P < 0.0001) and reduced the standard deviati ons in the voxel metabolite signals threefold. Normalized signals in women (n = 257) and men (n = 261) differed in 9 (Cho/Sigma Cho), 8 (Cr/Sigma Cr), and 10 (NAA/Sigma NAA) of 36 voxels examined (P less than or equal to 0.00 1). In the cingulate gyrus Cho/Sigma Cho, Cr/Sigma Cr, and NAA/Sigma NAA we re reduced in men compared with women. These findings are consistent with a sex-related reduction of glucose metabolism in the same brain robe reveale d by positron emission tomography, Magn Reson Med 42:24-31, 1999. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.