Rationale and objectives: We investigated the proton metabolism of right prefrontal white matter in drug-naive, chronic schizophrenic patients (n = 23), compared with healthy normal control subjects (n = 10), by using localized, water-suppressed in vivo 1H magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy.
Methods: All 1H MR spectroscopy examinations were performed on a 1.5-T MR imaging/MR spectroscopy system by using a point-resolved spectroscopy pulse sequence for localized volumes of 2 x 2 x 2 cm3. Proton metabolite ratios relative to creatine (Cr) were obtained using a Marquart algorithm.
Results: Drug-naive, chronic schizophrenic patients demonstrated a decrease in the N-acetylaspartate (NAA):Cr and choline (Cho):Cr ratios and an increase of the complex of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (Glu)-containing ratio [(GABA + Glu):Cr] as compared with normal control subjects.
Conclusion: Results suggest that the reduction of NAA and Cho may indicate neuronal dysfunction and that the elevation of GABA and Glu may play a role in chronic schizophrenia. 1H MR spectroscopy may be a useful modality in research and in the clinical evaluation of chronic schizophrenic patients.