Proton MR spectroscopy in neonates with perinatal cerebral hypoxic-ischemic injury: Metabolite peak-area ratios, relaxation times, and absolute concentrations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Results from cerebral proton 1H-MR spectroscopy studies of neonates with perinatal hypoxic-ischemic injury have generally been presented as metabolite peak-area ratios, which are T1- and T2-weighted, rather than absolute metabolite concentrations. We hypothesized that compared with 1H-MR spectroscopy peak-area ratios, calculation of absolute metabolite concentrations and relaxation times measured within the first 4 days after birth (1) would improve prognostic accuracy and (2) enhance the understanding of underlying neurochemical changes in neonates with neonatal encephalopathy. METHODS: Seventeen term infants with neonatal encephalopathy and 10 healthy controls were studied at 2..