Magnetic resonance T2-relaxometry and 2D L-correlated spectroscopy in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy
✍ Scribed by Aparna Singhal; Rajakumar Nagarajan; Rajesh Kumar; Amir Huda; Rakesh K. Gupta; M. Albert Thomas
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2009
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 370 KB
- Volume
- 30
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1053-1807
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
Purpose:
To evaluate T~2~‐relaxation changes in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) using T~2~ relaxometry and to correlate T~2~ values with brain metabolites evaluated using 2D magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).
Materials and Methods:
Eight MHE patients and 13 healthy subjects were evaluated using T~2~ relaxometry, and eight patients and nine healthy subjects underwent 2D MRS in right frontal and left occipital regions. Whole‐brain T~2~‐relaxation maps were compared between MHE and control subjects using analysis‐of‐covariance, with age and gender included as covariates. T~2~ values derived from the right frontal and left occipital lobes were correlated with the metabolite ratios.
Results:
Multiple brain regions including anterior and mid cingulate cortices, right anterior and left posterior insular cortices, right prefrontal, medial frontal, and right superior temporal cortices showed significantly increased T~2~ values in MHE patients compared to control subjects. MRS showed significantly increased ratios of glutamine/glutamate (Glx) and decreased ratios of myo‐inositol, taurine, choline, and myo‐inositol/choline (mICh) with respect to creatine (Cr_d) in patients compared to controls. Frontal Glx/Cr_d showed significantly positive correlation with T~2~ values.
Conclusion:
MHE patients showed significantly increased T~2~ values in multiple brain regions reflecting increased free water content and T~2~ values in frontal lobe correlated with the increased Glx/Cr_d ratio. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2009;30:1034–1041. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.