Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study of Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment and Vascular Cognitive Impairment With No Dementia

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and vascular cognitive impairment with no dementia (VCIND) are highly predictive of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. In this study, a 2-dimensional magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed in 25 patients with aMCI, 28 patients with VCIND, and 32 normal controls (NCs). The concentrations of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), myoinositol (MI), and creatine (Cr) were measured, and their ratios were calculated. The patients with aMCI displayed significantly lower NAA/MI bilaterally in the posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG) and white matter of occipital lobe (OLWM) than NC participants or patients with VCIND, whereas patients with VCIND displayed markedly lower NAA/Cho bilaterally in the white matter of frontal lobe (FLWM) and left OLWM, and right dorsal thalamus (DT) than patients with NC or aMCI. Compared with the controls, patients with aMCI displayed lower NAA and NAA/Cr in bilateral PCG, left precuneus, and DT, whereas patients with VCIND displayed lower NAA/Cr in bilateral DT and FLWM. In addition, increased MI in right PCG of patients with aMCI and increased Cho in left FLWM of patients with VCIND were also observed. The results might help guide a clinical differentiation between the 2 disorders.