Magnetic resonance spectral analysis of the brain for diagnosis of clinical conditions

摘要

The present invention relates to a method for determining the concentration of metabolites in the brain using magnetic resonance spectrum techniques. The method comprising defining a volume within the brain, obtaining a magnetic resonance spectrum of the defined volume, suppressing the signal from water to reveal the spectra from metabolites, correcting the baseline, obtaining the magnetic resonance spectrum of an external standard, comparing the signal from the metabolites to the signal from the external standard and calculating the in vivo concentration of the metabolites. In one embodiment of the invention a diagnosis for Alzheimer Disease is made by comparing the relative peak heights of myo-inositol relative to creatine and N-acetylaspartate relative to creatine in the patient to the relative peak heights of myo-inositol relative to creatine and N-acetylaspartate relative to creatine for a normal population, wherein an increase in the relative peak height of myo-inositol and a decrease in the relative peak height of N-acetylaspartate is diagnostic of Alzheimer Disease.