We wanted to evaluate the cerebral metabolites in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and who were undergoing hemodialysis by performing proton MR spectroscopy and we wanted to evaluate the correlation between the changes in the cerebral metabolite ratios and the duration after starting the initial hemodialysis.

Proton MR spectroscopy was performed in 15 patients with CRF and who were undergoing hemodialysis and in ten healthy volunteers. The changes in N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline-containing compounds (Cho), myo-inositol (Myo), glutamine/glutamate complex (Glx), and creatine (Cr) were analyzed. MR spectroscopy was performed before and after hemodialysis.

For the patients with CRF before hemodialysis, the Cho/Cr ratio in the gray matter (p<0.001) and the Myo/Cr ratio in both the gray and white matter (p<0.01) were significantly elevated compared with those in the control subjects. For the patients with CRF after hemodialysis, their Cho/Cr ratios were significantly reduced in both the gray and white matter compared with that before hemodialysis (p<0.05). There was a significant positive correlation between the Cho/Cr ratio and serum Cr in the gray matter of CRF patients after hemodialysis (r=0.54, p<0.05). The cerebral metabolite ratios were not significantly correlated with the duration after starting the initial hemodialysis.

The cerebral metabolite patterns are significantly different between the patients with CRF and who are undergoing hemodialysis and the normal controls. The cerebral metabolite ratios are not significantly correlated with the duration after starting the initial hemodialysis.