Developmental changes in choline‐ and ethanolamine‐containing compounds measured with proton‐decoupled 31P MRS in in vivo human brain

Cerebral phosphorylated metabolites, possibly involved in membrane and myelin sheath metabolism, were measured and quantified using proton‐decoupled 31P ({1H}‐31P) MRS in 32 children and 28 adults. Age‐dependent changes were determined for phosphorylethanolamine (PE), phosphorylcholine (PC), glycerophosphorylethanolamine (GPE), glycerophosphorylcholine (GPC), and phosphocreatine (PCr) concentrations. In the neonate, PE dominates the spectrum and decreases with age along with PC, whereas GPE, GPC, and PCr increase in concentration with postnatal age. PE (1.23 ± 0.13 mM) and GPE (0.57 ± 0.08 mM) co‐resonate with choline in 1H MRS. Together with PC (0.57 ± 0.12 mM) and GPC (0.94 ± 0.13 mM) these four metabolites accounted for all of the visible 1H MRS choline in normal adult brain. Children with diseases that affect myelination were found to have abnormal {1H}‐31P MRS. The new quantitative assay may provide novel insights in determining and monitoring normal and abnormal brain maturation noninvasively. Magn Reson Med 42:643–654, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.