Decreased frontal lobe ratio of N-acetyl aspartate to choline in familial schizophrenia: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study

Neuropathological and neuroimaging studies suggest neuronal dysfunction in schizophrenia. N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) is a useful marker of neuronal dysf unction that can be measured with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). In the present study NAA, choline (Cho), phospho-creatine ((P)Cr), inositol c ontaining compounds and glutamine/glutamate (Glx) were assessed in the left frontal robe and basal ganglia of subjects with familial schizophrenia, fa mily members with mixed psychiatric diagnoses, unaffected family members, a nd community controls. Concentrations of metabolites were analyzed and expr essed as ratios. NAA/Cho, NAA/(P)Cr and Glx containing compounds showed a n egative correlation with age in the frontal lobe. After covarying for age, subjects with schizophrenia had a significant reduction in the left frontal lobe NAA/Cho ratio compared with unaffected family members (P = 0.018) as well as with community non-familial (P = 0.037) controls. These MRS observa tions support the hypothesis of a disease-related neuronal deficit in the f rontal lobe of schizophrenic patients, arid relatively normal basal ganglia . (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.