Proton spectroscopy is easier to perform and provides much higher signaltonoise than either sodium or phosphorus. Using magnetic resonance imaging in the early detection of. The application of noninvasive proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy 1hmrs could potentially identify changes in cerebral metabolites in the patients with alzheimers disease ad. Unlike magnetic resonance imaging mri, which gives us a picture of anatomical and physiological conditions, mrs generates a frequency domain spectrum that provides information about biochemical and metabolic processes occurring within tissues. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in common dementias. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in alzheimers disease. The most common nuclei that are used are 1 h proton, 23 na sodium, 31 p phosphorus. Many sequences used for imaging can be used for spectroscopy also such as the spin echo sequence.
Mr spectroscopy provides a measure of brain chemistry. Fundamentals of mr spectroscopy center for functional mri. Proton mr spectroscopy is a useful tool in diagnosing metabolic brain disorders when used as an adjunct to conventional mri. In most of the inherited metabolic disorders, mrs findings are abnormal but are not specific for a single metabolic disease or syndrome. Most fmri modalities are based on the blood oxygenation leveldependent bold effect. The primary role of mri and ct for that matter in the diagnosis of alzheimer disease is the assessment of volume change in characteristic locations which can yield a diagnostic accuracy of up to 87% 3. Functional magnetic resonance imaging, or fmri is a way to gain insight into the functional processes occurring in the brain. Initial magnetic resonance spectroscopy mrs studies in alzheimers disease were limited to phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy 31 p mrs revealing alterations in membrane phospholopid metabolism 14. Clinical applications of magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Clinical application of mr spectroscopy in identifying.