Published online Mar 22, 2018. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v8.i1.20
Peer-review started: October 2, 2017
First decision: November 27, 2017
Revised: December 17, 2017
Accepted: January 7, 2018
Article in press: January 7, 2018
Published online: March 22, 2018
To investigate the repeatability of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the in vivo measurement of human cerebral levels of choline-containing compounds (Cho).
Two consecutive scans were carried out in six healthy resting subjects at a magnetic field strength of 1.5 T. On each occasion, neurospectroscopy data were collected from 64 voxels using the same 2D chemical shift imaging (CSI) sequence. The data were analyzed in the same way, using the same software, to obtain the values for each voxel of the ratio of Cho to creatine. The Wilcoxon related-samples signed-rank test, coefficient of variation (CV), repeatability coefficient (RC), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to assess the repeatability.
The CV ranged from 2.75% to 33.99%, while the minimum RC was 5.68%. There was excellent reproducibility, as judged by significant ICC values, in 26 voxels. Just three voxels showed significant differences according to the Wilcoxon related-samples signed-rank test.
It is therefore concluded that when CSI multivoxel proton neurospectroscopy is used to measure cerebral choline-containing compounds at 1.5 T, the reproducibility is highly acceptable.
Core tip: Proton neurospectroscopy is a powerful tool allowing the assessment of cerebral metabolites. As such, it is increasingly being introduced into the practice of psychiatry for the investigation of cerebral choline-containing compounds in patients, as well as being used as a research tool. However, it is important to establish the reproducibility of this sensitive technique. In the present study, we show that this technique (using 2D chemical shift imaging) gives a level of reproducibility that is highly acceptable. These results should further encourage the use of this technique, which, in principle, is available on all standard MRI scanners, in psychiatric practice.