Abstract #1265

Quantification of Fetal Brain Lactate with MR Spectroscopy

Geoff Charles-Edwards^1,2, Wajanat Jan¹, Meekai To¹, Darryl Maxwell¹, Stephen Keevil^1,2, Richard Robinson¹

¹Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; ²King's College London, London, UK

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has been used to measure cerebral lactate levels in a range of human populations, from elderly stroke patients to pre-term neonates. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of extending lactate detection and quantification to the fetal brain. A peak consistent with lactate was measured and quantified in a number of patients at high risk of fetal hypoxia. To our knowledge this is the first MRS study to measure and quantify lactate in the human fetal brain. Fetal MRS may provide a valuable direct and non-invasive assessment of fetal hypoxia.