Absence of N-acetylaspartate in the human brain: impact on neurospectroscopy?
case_report · Level V
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Abstract
N-acetylaspartate (NAA) contributes to the most prominent signal in proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) of the adult human brain. We report the absence of NAA in the brain of a 3-year-old child with neurodevelopmental retardation and moderately delayed myelination. Since normal concentration of NAA in body fluids is hardly detectable, 1H-MRS is a noninvasive technique for identifying neurometabolic diseases with absent NAA. This report puts NAA as a neuronal marker to question.
Medical subject headings
- Aspartic Acid
- Brain
- Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy
- Nervous System Diseases