Study of the relation between proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy metabolites in the brain regions and the b vitamin status in alcoholics

Abstract

This paper is to report on the experimental findings that relate the vitamin B status with the changes in the proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) metabolites in the human brain. A case-control study of fifteen alcoholics and their age, sex, and years in education-matched control was carried out among free-living volunteers in South Korea. We assessed nutritional state of thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, and folate, and performed the proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to assess the brain metabolite changes in the frontal lobe, basal ganglia, and hippocampus. Alcoholics were shown to have decreased ratios of N-acetyl aspartate/creatine (NAA/Cr) in the left hippocampus. In alcoholics, myo-inositol/creatine (mI/Cr) and NAA/Cr in the hippocampus, frontal lobes, and basal ganglia were significantly correlated with the functional B vitamin status and folate nutrition. The B vitamin status was found to be strongly correlated with the proton MRS metabolite changes in the brain regions in humans. © 2001 Elsevier Science Inc.