Serial Whole-Brain N-Acetylaspartate Concentration in Healthy Young Adults

• DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.a0712
• Publication Date: 2007-09-24T20:48:16Z
• Authors: D.J. Rigotti; M. Inglese; J.S. Babb; M. Rovaris; B. Benedetti; M. Filippi; R.I. Grossman; O. Gonen
• Keywords: Adult; Male; 0301 basic medicine; Aspartic Acid; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Adolescent; Clinical Neurology; Brain; Reproducibility of Results; Middle Aged; Sensitivity and Specificity; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Adolescent; Adult; Aspartic Acid; Brain; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Middle Aged; Protons; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Neurology (clinical); Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging; Radiological and Ultrasound Technology; Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging; Reference Values; Humans; Female; Longitudinal Studies; Protons

Although the concentration of N-acetylaspartate (NAA) is often used as a neuronal integrity marker, its normal temporal variations are not well documented. To assess them over the 1-2 year periods of typical clinical trials, the whole-brain NAA concentration was measured longitudinally, over 4 years, in a cohort of healthy young adults. No significant change (adjusted for both sex and age) was measured either interpersonally or intrapersonally over the entire duration of the study.