Figure 1

Neuron loss in the adult cortex of the irradiated animals, indicated by a reduction in NAA. (A) Localised MR spectra were acquired from volumes of interest, comprising the cortex (1) and a subcortical region (corresponding to the striatum, 2). (B) Two representative MR spectra, with indication of the metabolites, acquired from the striatum, are shown. Cre: creatine, PCr: phosphocreatine, Chol: choline, PChol: phosphorylcholine, GPC: glycerophosphorylcholine, NAA: N-acetyl aspartate. (C) Quantification of the NAA signal in animals at 40 weeks after birth indicated significantly decreased concentrations in the cortical region, but not in the striatal region, in animals irradiated with 1.0 Gy at E11 when compared to controls. Quantification of all other metabolites is shown in Additional file 3: Table S2. Data are presented as mean ± SEM. *P < 0.05 for comparison with controls. The number of animals used per test is indicated in the graphs (N).