Abstract #0220

Longitudinal Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Premanifest and Early Huntington Disease.

Bretta Russell-Schulz¹, Alex L. MacKay¹,², Blair R. Leavitt³

¹Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ²Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; ³Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Huntington disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease that has no cure and leads to severe impairment, both cognitive and physical. This study is an extension of the earlier Track-HD study, examining MRS metabolites longitudinally in premanifest and early HD compared to controls across three years, in search of biomarkers for disease manifest and progression. The most significant changes in metabolite concentrations between groups were seen in tNAA, tCr and mI. tNAA and tCr showed the same pattern between the subject groups at all 4 timepoints. mI is a possible biomarker not only for disease identification but also disease progression.