Ana Stan1, Perry Mihalakos2,
Deborah Douglas3, Stephanie Morris2, Changho Choi3,
Carol Tamminga2
1Western Psychiatric Institute and
Clinic, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, United
States; 2Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical
Center, Dallas, TX, United States; 3Advanced Imaging Research
Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United
States
We
report a result of a 3T 1H-MRS study in schizophrenia. The concentrations of
glutamate (Glu), glutamine (Gln), and N-acetylaspatate (NAA) in hippocampus
(voxel 50x15x15 mm) were measured using a triple refocusing sequence. GABA
was measured with a difference editing method. MRS scans were conducted on 13
schizophrenia volunteers (10 on medication (SV-ON) and 3 off-medication
(SV-OFF)) and 14 normal volunteers (NV). LCModel fitting was used for
spectral analysis. [Glu]/[Cr] was observed to be similar between NV and SV-ON
(p = 0.4). However, [Glu]/[Cr] in SV-OFF was significantly lower (~30%) than
in both NV and SV-ON (p = 0.02 and 0.04, respectively). For Gln, the
concentrations were about the same between the three groups (p > 0.2).
Compared to NV, [NAA]/[Cr] was reduced (by 10%) in SV-ON (p = 0.006), but not
in SV-OFF (p = 0.55). The GABA data showed difference between SV-OFF and
SV-ON (p = 0.05).