Abstract Objective: To evaluate the role of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy(1H-MRS) in the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment(MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease(AD). Methods: A single voxel 1H-MRS studies were performed to 20 patients with MCI, 20 patients with AD, and 20 normal control volunteers. The mode of spectral acquisition was STEAM technique, localizing 2cm×2cm×2cm voxels in the posterior cingulate gyri, the middle frontal gyrus cortex and the left occipital cortex. The metabolites in the spectra collected for quantification included N-acetyl aspartate(NAA), choline(Cho), creatine(Cr) and myo-inositol(mI). The ratios of NAA/Cr, mI/Cr and Cho/Cr were calculated and compared among the groups. Results: NAA/Cr of the posterior cingulate gyri and the middle frontal gyrus cortex region in AD-MCI group, AD-NC group were significantly different(P<0.05). mI/Cr of the posterior cingulate gyri and the middle frontal gyrus cortex region in AD, MCI and NC groups were significantly different(P<0.05). Conclusion: We found the reduction of NAA/Cr ratio and the increase of mI/Cr ratio in the posterior cingulate gyri and the middle frontal gyrus cortex in patients with AD, but only the increase of mI/Cr ratio in patients with MCI. 1H-MRS could provide biochemical and metabolic information on patients with MCI and AD noninvasively, which is helpful for the early diagnosis of MCI and AD.
2008, Vol. 19 
