MR spectroscopy detection of lactate and lipid signals in the brains of healthy elderly people

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to assess the presence of brain la ctate and lipid signals, frequently associated with the presence of patholo gy, in healthy persons of 60-90 years old (n = 540). Lactate and lipid sign als were observed in, respectively, 25 and 6% of women, and 18 and 2% of me n. Upon adjustment for age, and for MRI-detected cerebral atrophy and white matter lesions, the gender differences in lactate and lipid remained the s ame (p = 0.05 and p = 0.03, respectively). Brain lactate and lipid signals appear to be intrinsic to aging. However, the presence of these metabolites in very focal areas only, rather than in any distributed fashion within th e brain (the latter generally the case with cerebral atrophy and white matt er lesions), strongly suggests the existence of asymptomatic focal patholog y not shown on MRI.