Meeting Banner
Abstract #1980

Persistent Basal Ganglia NAA/Cr Ratio Differences in Gulf War Illness

Sergey Cheshkov1,2, Audrey Chang1, Hyeon-Man Baek1, Sandeep Ganji1, Evelyn Babcock1, Richard Briggs1,2, Robert Haley2

1Radiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; 2Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States


Decrease in the N-acetylaspartate to creatine ratio (NAA/Cr) was previously measured via magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 1.5T in bilateral basal ganglia, pons, and in left hippocampus of Gulf War Illness patients. The Seabees cohort veterans (controls, Syndrome 1, 2, and 3 patients) studied in 1997-1998 recently participated in a follow-up study at 3T. The group comparison of this new spectroscopic data indicates reduced NAA/Cr ratio in all three Syndrome groups compared to the control group, the decrease is significant in the left and nearly significant in the right basal ganglia. This finding indicates possible neuronal damage in the affected population.