Table 1.
The changes of brain metabolites after treatment
| Variables | Experimental group (n=18) | Control group (n=20) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left brain | |||
| NAA | |||
| Pretreatment | 55 (51–61) | 50 (46–56) | 0.032 |
| Posttreatment | 57 (49–62) | 52 (49–55) | 0.065 |
| Change | 3 (−3 to 6) | 2 (−1 to 3) | 0.527 |
| Change (%) | 5.5 (−5.8 to 9.7) | 3.8 (−1.9 to 6.8) | 0.804 |
| Cho | |||
| Pretreatment | 52 (42–55) | 47 (44–51) | 0.285 |
| Posttreatment | 54 (50–63) | 49 (44–53) | 0.005 |
| Change | 7 (3–12) | 2 (−3 to 4) | 0.004 |
| Change (%) | 12.5 (5.5–25.9) | 3.3 (−5.7 to 8.0) | 0.004 |
| Cr | |||
| Pretreatment | 45 (43–48) | 43 (41–46) | 0.090 |
| Posttreatment | 41 (39–43) | 43 (39–44) | 0.371 |
| Change | −5 (−6 to −1) | −3 (−3 to 1) | 0.017 |
| Change (%) | −8.8 (−13.9 to −2.4) | −5.3 (−7.5 to 1.2) | 0.021 |
| NAA/Cr | |||
| Pretreatment | 1.2 (1.2–1.3) | 1.2 (1.1–1.3) | 0.292 |
| Posttreatment | 1.4 (1.1–1.6) | 1.3 (1.2–1.3) | 0.077 |
| Change | 0.2 (0.1–0.3) | 0.1 (0–0.1) | 0.017 |
| Change (%) | 16.3 (8.3–26.7) | 5.7 (1.4–12.1) | 0.023 |
| Cho/Cr | |||
| Pretreatment | 1.1 (0.9–1.3) | 1.1 (1.0–1.1) | 0.930 |
| Posttreatment | 1.4 (1.2–1.5) | 1.1 (1.1–1.2) | 0.001 |
| Change | 0.3 (0.1–0.4) | 0.1 (0–0.1) | 0.003 |
| Change (%) | 26.7 (4.6–40.6) | 6.1 (−1.4 to 12.8) | 0.005 |
| Right brain | |||
| NAA | |||
| Pretreatment | 54 (49–56) | 52 (47–55) | 0.333 |
| Posttreatment | 60 (57–65) | 54 (47–58) | 0.000 |
| Change | 7 (4–13) | 3 (−2 to 4) | 0.001 |
| Change (%) | 11.8 (7.8–27.7) | 4.5 (−3.2 to 8.3) | 0.002 |
| Cho | |||
| Pretreatment | 49 (42–52) | 49 (42–53) | 0.736 |
| Posttreatment | 58 (53–64) | 48 (46–55) | 0.004 |
| Change | 10 (6–13) | 4 (1.0 to 6) | 0.001 |
| Change (%) | 22.9 (9.5–30.8) | 7.8 (0.7–13.0) | 0.003 |
| Cr | |||
| Pretreatment | 46 (43–49) | 45 (42–48) | 0.340 |
| Posttreatment | 43 (40–45) | 44 (43–46) | 0.268 |
| Change | −4 (−6 to 1) | 0 (−3 to 2) | 0.077 |
| Change (%) | −8.7 (−10.7 to 2.4) | −1.1 (−6.6 to 3.3) | 0.047 |
| NAA/Cr | |||
| Pretreatment | 1.2 (1.0–1.2) | 1.1 (1.0–1.2) | 0.988 |
| Posttreatment | 1.4 (1.2–1.6) | 1.2 (1.1–1.3) | 0.002 |
| Change | 0.3 (0.1–0.4) | 0.1 (0–0.1) | 0.001 |
| Change (%) | 28.7 (6.4–40.1) | 6.5 (−1.5 to 10.1) | 0.001 |
| Cho/Cr | |||
| Pretreatment | 1.0 (1.0–1.1) | 1.1 (0.9–1.2) | 0.599 |
| Posttreatment | 1.4 (1.2–1.5) | 1.1 (1.0–1.2) | 0.001 |
| Change | 0.3 (0.2–0.5) | 0.1 (0–0.2) | <0.001 |
| Change (%) | 29.3 (14.6–45.6) | 6.8 (−0.2 to 14.5) | <0.001 |
Note: Data are presented as median (interquartile range).
Abbreviations: NAA, N-acetyl aspartic acid; Cho, choline compound; Cr, creatine compound.