Brain metabolite values in children with breath-holding spells

Breath-holding spells are benign, paroxysmal events with apnea and postural tone changes after a crying episode in infants. The objective of this study was to investigate the pathologies in brain metabolite values in the absence of seizure in children with breath-holding spells by using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Brain MRS examination was performed on 18 children with breath-holding spells and 13 neurologically normal children who were included as the control group. There was no significant difference in terms of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), and myoinositol (mI) levels and also in terms of NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr, and mI/Cr ratios between the patients and the control group (all P>0.05). Our study suggested that there is no permanent neuronal damage in patients with breath-holding spells. This result confirms the previous studies, which reported no permanent neuronal damage in patients with breath-holding spells.

Basic Principles and Clinical Applications of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Neuroradiology

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a powerful tool to assist daily clinical diagnostics. This review is intended to give an overview on basic principles of the technology, discuss some of its technical aspects, and present typical applications in daily clinical routine in neuroradiology.