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Histological and 1 H magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging analysis of quinolinic acid‐induced damage to the rat striatum
Author(s) -
Strauss Ian,
Fernandez Erik J.,
Williamson John M.,
Bertram Edward H.,
Lothmant Eric W.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
magnetic resonance in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.696
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1522-2594
pISSN - 0740-3194
DOI - 10.1002/mrm.1910370106
Subject(s) - quinolinic acid , striatum , magnetic resonance imaging , chemistry , magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance , nuclear medicine , pathology , medicine , neuroscience , biology , biochemistry , radiology , dopamine , physics , amino acid , tryptophan
NAA has been described as a neuron‐specific compound. NAA levels as determined by magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) have been used to determine degree of neuronal loss in several neurological diseases, but there has been limited work to document the accuracy and reliability of this technique. This study addresses this question quantitatively with histological analysis of cell viability and tissue shrinkage in quinolinic acid (QA)‐induced damage of the rat striatum compared with 1 H MRSI measurement of N ‐acetyl aspartate (NAA) as a noninvasive measure of neuronal loss. Both 'H MRSI and histology detect damage to the lesioned striatum; however, there are differences in the degree of damage as assessed by the two methods. Although partial‐volume effects and tissue shrinkage may decrease the sensitivity of MR to such damage, the sparing of axons by QA may be another important factor in the differences in assessment. These results indicate that further studies of NAA metabolism and its distribution within neurons are warranted.