Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Neurological Diagnosis

In this article, we review the role of MRS in neurologic diagnosis and patient care. Technical discussion focuses on the few remaining issues, localization, spectral display, and interpretation because interesting questions surrounding this widely diverse methodology have been resolved, and a single coherent diagnostic MRS protocol can be applied worldwide on clinical MRI scanners. We provide the most diagnostically useful MRS findings and discuss what is lacking for MRS to become a valuable addition to diagnostic evaluation of neurologic problems. Finally, we muse about the still-underappreciated role of MRS as a molecular neuroimaging technique and predict steady growth of this application as hyperpolarization MR technology approaches the clinic.