Jun Xu1, 2, Brenna C. McDonald1, John D. West1, Ulrike Dydak, 12, Andrew J. Saykin1
1Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medcine, Indianapolis, IN, United States; 2School of Health Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
Cancer patients treated with chemotherapy have typically shown decreased neuropsychological performance. To better understand the mechanisms behind such deficits caused by chemotherapy, we used 3D proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to obtain information on changes in brain metabolite levels before and after chemotherapy. We compared breast cancer patients treated with and without chemotherapy, and controls. No cross sectional differences were found between the three groups, but a significant decrease of NAA/Cr in the hippocampus was found in the chemotherapy group, and significant decreases of Cho/Cr in hippocampus were found in both patient groups over time.
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