Examining cerebral metabolic abnormalities in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients by localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)

Purpose. The study was planned based on the hypothesis that cerebral metabolism is impaired in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by using localized in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Materials and Methods. The study comprised 30 male patients, aged 45-70 years, with moderate level COPD and an aged matched group of 30 healthy males as the control group. Cerebral metabolism was investigated with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) using multivoxel technique. Data normal distribution conformity was evaluated by the One Sample Kolmogorov Smirnov Test and homogeneity by the One-Way ANOVA test. For both the COPD and control group, data were obtained as mean, standard deviations, minimum and maximum values. Independent sample t-test was used for the comparison of means between the two groups. Results. The frontal and parietal white matter in patients with COPD showed an overall reduction in cerebral metabolites. The NAA (N-acetylaspartate)/Cr (Creatinine), Cho (Choline)/Cr ratios of the cerebral frontal and parietal white matter regions in the COPD group were significantly lower than the control group. Conclusions. The findings of this study through the use of MRS confirmed that most patients with symptomatic COPD have cerebral metabolic abnormalities.