Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of basal ganglia in chronic fatigue syndrome

Fatigue is a common symptom of neurological diseases that affect basal ganglia function.We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) to study the metabolic functions of the basal ganglia in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) to test the hypothesis that fatigue in CFS may have a neurogenic component. 1HMRS of left basal ganglia was carried out in eight non-psychiatric patients with CFS and their results were compared to age- and sex sexmatched healthy asymptomatic healthy controls. A highly significant increase in the spectra from choline-containing compounds was seen in the CFS patient group (po0.001). In the absence of regional structural or in£ammatory pathology, increased choline resonance in CFS may be an indicator of higher cell membrane turnover due to gliosis or altered intramembrane signalling.