RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Mesial Prefrontal Cortex Degeneration in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A High-Field Proton MR Spectroscopy Study
JF American Journal of Neuroradiology
JO Am. J. Neuroradiol.
FD American Society of Neuroradiology
SP 1677
OP 1680
DO 10.3174/ajnr.A2590
VO 32
IS 9
A1 U. Usman
A1 C. Choi
A1 R. Camicioli
A1 P. Seres
A1 M. Lynch
A1 R. Sekhon
A1 W. Johnston
A1 S. Kalra
YR 2011
UL http://www.ajnr.org/content/32/9/1677.abstract
AB BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration is responsible for the cognitive abnormalities seen in patients with ALS. We sought to evaluate the in vivo neurochemical changes associated with this pathology indicative of neuronal loss and gliosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-four patients with ALS (2 with ALS-FTD) and 15 healthy controls were studied. High-field proton MR spectroscopy of the mesial prefrontal cortex was used to determine concentrations of NAA and mIns, markers of neuronal integrity and gliosis, respectively. Metabolite concentrations were correlated with cognitive tests (verbal fluency, ACE). RESULTS: NAA/mIns was decreased 17% (P =.002). Abnormalities were present to a lesser degree in the individual metabolites NAA (decreased 9%; P =.08) and mIns (increased 11%; P =.06) than the ratio of the 2 metabolites. These measures did not correlate significantly with verbal fluency or the ACE. CONCLUSIONS: Prefrontal lobe degeneration exists in patients with ALS as indicated by an abnormal mesial prefrontal cortex neurochemical profile. Further study is necessary to determine the potential utility of the NAA/mIns ratio as a biomarker for frontal lobe degeneration in ALS. ACEAddenbrooke's Cognitive ExaminationALSamyotrophic lateral sclerosisALSFRS-RALS Functional Rating Scale-RevisedFTDfrontotemporal dementiaFTLDfrontotemporal lobar degenerationMRSMR spectroscopyNAAN-acetylaspartatemInsmyo-inositolPETpositron-emission tomographyPFCprefrontal cortexRFradio frequencyTDP-43TAR DNA binding protein of 43 kDa