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Abstract #2002

Reduced NAA and Glutamate in Healthy Military Subjects Compared to Civilian Controls

Huijun Liao 1 , Kristin Heaton 2 , Praveen Merugumala 1 , Jessica Saurman 2 , Xi Long 1 , Irina Orlovsky 2 , Sai Merugumala 1 , Kelly Rudolph 2 , Nicole Murphy 2 , Benjamin Rowland 1 , and Alexander P. Lin 1

1 Center for Clinical Spectroscopy, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States, 2 Military Performance Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, United States

The objective of this H MRS study was to investigate whether healthy age and gendered-matched civilian subjects and military subjects show significant differences in MRS quantifiable metabolites. Compared to the healthy civilian group, lower Glu and NAA were found in the healthy military group across four voxels and were significant in posterior cingulate gyrus and parietal white matter. These findings could not be explained by differences in neurocognitive test performance or education levels which did not significantly differ between the two groups. Our results demonstrate the importance of utilizing appropriate military controls for military studies.

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