H-1 MRS OF HUMAN BRAIN ABSCESSES IN-VIVO AND IN-VITRO

Five patients, each with a brain abscess, were examined by means of H-1 MR spectroscopic imaging in vivo. The aspirated pus was analyzed in vitro by means of 1D and 2D COSY H-1 MRS. In addition to resonance lines from compounds (lactate, alanine and lipids) often found in the spectra from intracranial tumors, resonance lines were detected from a number of markers of infectious involvement (acetate, succinate, and various amino acids). These results suggest that H-1 MRS in vivo might contribute in establishing noninvasively a differential diagnosis between brain abscess and tumor.