Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in Pediatric Concussion: Examining longitudinal and multisite data
Date
2023-10-19
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Millions of concussions occur annually in children and youths. Though metabolic disturbance has been shown to be present in adult concussion, there is less research and evidence of these same effects in pediatric groups. Using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS), we can study neurometabolites that may be altered following pediatric concussion. With increasing interest in MRS to study concussion and other clinical conditions, there is increased importance to understand differences between analysis software and how to harmonize multi-site/vendor studies to increase sample sizes. My thesis aims to improve our understanding of the metabolite changes in pediatric concussion and associated technical moderators in multisite MRS studies. To accomplish this goal, my work examines MRS data from the Advancing Concussion Assessment in Pediatrics (A-CAP) study, which recruited pediatric concussion participants and an orthopedic injury (OI) control group. The results found: 1) No differences in neurometabolites at 12-days post-injury in children with concussion and OI, 2) No significant differences in metabolite trajectories between those with and without concussion symptoms over time (12-days, 3-month, 6-month), 3) Significant decreases in tCho in those with somatic symptoms in comparison to OI controls at 3-months, 4) Large vendor effects and different statistical methods to account for multisite data could yield different results, and 5) Software-related differences in metabolite quantification with associated bias, though clinical results were consistent. These investigations provide important context in pediatric concussion and neurometabolic activity in the short and long-term. Additionally, this work provides recommendations for how to control for multi-site/vendor and offer a description of the biases and agreement between different MRS quantification software.
Description
Keywords
Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Concussion, Multi-site, Longitudinal, Pediatric
Citation
La, P. L. (2023). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy in pediatric concussion: examining longitudinal and multisite data (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.