Volume 25, Issue 108, February, 2021

Characterization of brain lesions using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy

Negwa Gasim Mahgoub Ahmed¹, Asma Aamin¹, Sara Khalifa^1,2, Sawsan Mohammed Elhassan^1,2, Meaad Albashir², Mona Ahmed¹, Nada Alomairy²

¹Sudan University of Sciences and Technology, College of Medical Radiological Sciences, Khartoum, Sudan
²Diagnostic Radiology Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Jazan University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Nowadays MRS is considered one of the essential imaging modalities to assess the different brain lesions. This retrospective study was done in Khartoum state, Sudan to evaluate brain lesions using MRS. The data were collected from PACS of Royal care hospital after taken an ethical approval from the department of radiology. Total of 100 patients {54 male and 46 females} were examined. After collection, data was then analysed using statistical package for social sciences version 23, frequency and percentage used for categorical variable, cross tabulation using Chi square test to correlate between study variables, p value significant if ≤ 0.05. The study found that the most frequent location of brain lesion in MRI is cerebrum 59%. The most common brain lesion described by MRS are low grade glioma is 18%, high grade glioma is 12%, gliomatosiscerebri5%, focal encephalitis 3%, TB granuloma 4%. The Cho/Cr is done and show that the minimum ratio [1.10] in non-neoplastic lesion, maximum ratio {8} in high grade tumour. Most (86%) of these brain lesions yield low NAA, the lipid/lactate may be moderate or mildly elevated in 33% of cases, respectively. Significant correlation found between lesion type suggesting on MRS and metabolites values (p <0.01) as lipid lactate producing sky high peak on different types of non-neoplastic eg.granuloma, normal peak in all cases of meningioma. The study concluded that MRS complementary to MRI in characterization of brain lesions, it can assess the lesion type and helping in grading of brain tumours.

Keywords: MRS (Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy), lesions, Cho/Cr ratio, Lipid lactate, NAA (N-acetylasparate) and Cho (Choline)

Medical Science, 2021, 25(108), 424-431

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