Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of N‐acetylaspartate in hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy

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Abstract
Magnetic resonance imaging and water‐suppressed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging were used to study N‐acetylaspartate and other metabolites in a patient with severe hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy. The N‐acetylaspartate signal, a putative marker of neuronal density, was markedly reduced in the forebrain. The relative signal intensity of choline‐containing metabolites, which are more abundant in astrocytes than neurons, was increased. These results support the hypothesis that water‐suppressed proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging measurements of N‐acetylaspartate may be useful for noninvasive detection of selective neuronal loss in a variety of disease states in the human brain.