Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society

Table of Contents - 2004 - Volume 10, Issue 01  


RESEARCH LETTER

Hepatitis C virus infection is associated with reduced white matter N-acetylaspartate in abstinent methamphetamine users

MICHAEL J.  TAYLOR  a1 a2 c1 , SCOTT L.  LETENDRE  a1 , BRIAN C.  SCHWEINSBURG  a1 a2 a3 , OMAR M.  ALHASSOON  a1 a2 a3 , GREGORY G.  BROWN  a1 a2 , ASSAWIN  GONGVATANA  a1 a2 a3 , IGOR  GRANT  a1 a2 and THE  HNRC  a1
a1 University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California
a2 VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California
a3 SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, California

Article author query
taylor mj   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
letendre sl   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
schweinsburg bc   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
alhassoon om   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
brown gg   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
gongvatana a   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
grant i   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 
hnrc t   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 

Nearly 3,000,000 people in the United States, and over 100,000,000 people worldwide, are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), with an increasing trajectory for the foreseeable future (Alter et al., 1999). While hepatic encephalopathy has been long recognized as a disorder associated with cerebral structural, metabolic, and cognitive changes (e.g., Tarter et al., 1989), HCV infection itself is increasingly associated with changes in the brain, even in the absence of hyperammonemia. Specifically, HCV-infected individuals may have deficits in cognitive functions such as attention, working memory, and speed of information processing (Forton et al., 2002; Hilsabeck et al., 2002). They may also have abnormalities on magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), a non-invasive method to measure cerebral metabolites. The most reliably measured compounds using a standard 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner are N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a marker of neuronal integrity; choline and choline-containing compounds (Cho), a measure of cell membrane turnover and lipid changes; myo-Inositol (Ins), a possible indicator of glial proliferation and/or osmolar changes; and creatine+phosphocreatine (Cr), an indicator of high energy stores that is often used as a relative standard for other metabolites. In the first studies of HCV using MRS, Forton et al. (2001; 2002) found elevated Cho/Cr in the frontal white matter and basal ganglia in patients with HCV. In addition patients with two or more impaired neuropsychological test performances had higher Cho/Cr compared to those with less than two impaired test performances. a

(Received July 2 2003)
(Accepted August 21 2003)


Correspondence:
c1 Reprint requests to: Michael J. Taylor, Ph.D., VA San Diego Healthcare, Department of Psychiatry (116A), 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161. E-mail: mjtaylor@ucsd.edu

Footnotes

a Dr. Erin D. Bigler served as Action Editor during the course of this review.


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