ABSTRACT
Objective Single voxel proton spectroscopy technique (1H-MRS)was performed in the healthy newborn brain tissue to investigate the metabolic ratio in the right basal ganglia and the right frontal lobe changes with gestational age, and to improve the understanding of the neonatal brain development. Methods In this study, 69 newborns were selected, including twenty-five premature and forty-four term neonates. By using the Gesell developmental scale to evaluate brain development , they all had normal neurologic outcomes at 12-months corrected age. A point-resolved spectroscopy sequence was used to study the metabolic data obtained from each region of interest. Results N-acetylaspartate: creatine and N-acetylaspartate:choline were positively correlated with gestational age (the right basal ganglia r = 0.27, 0.63, the right frontal lobe r = 0.44, 0.64 respectively, P < 0.05) and choline:creatine was negative (the right basal ganglia r = -0.51,the right frontal lobe r = -0.41, P < 0.05), with a linear regression relationship among variables. In the same gestational age group , the N-acetylaspartate: choline of the right basal ganglia was higher than that of the right frontal lobe , and the metabolic ratios among the anatomic locations were significantly different (P < 0.05). Conclusion Neonatal brain metabolite levels are associated with gestational age , and MRS can monitor newborn brain maturation quantitatively.