Long-Term Antipsychotic Treatment Does Not Alter MRS Measures of Metabolite Levels in Normal Rat Brain

¹Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Multiple MRS studies have reported that N-acetylaspartate levels generally are decreased in the frontal and temporal lobes of schizophrenic patients compared with controls. Since patients usually are stabilized on antipsychotics when they are examined, changes in metabolite concentrations could result from the disease and/or the drugs. Differentiating the effects of disease from treatment, without confounds resulting from lifestyle, is difficult in patients. Here we report the results of a 6-month study in normal rat brain to determine the effects of antipsychotics on metabolite levels. Our results indicate that antipsychotic drugs do not significantly alter the concentrations of any metabolite.