NMR Spectroscopy in Medical Diagnosis – Recent Developments

In the field of diagnostic medicine, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has found wide applications. Simplicity of sample preparation, biological safety, non-invasiveness, and non-destructiveness are the advantages of NMR based metabolomic studies. One of the main drawbacks is lower sensitivity. This review summarises the current achievements of NMR spectroscopy in the diagnosis of human disorders. NMR spectroscopy has been useful in metabolomics-based diagnosis. NMRbased screening for inborn errors of metabolism is practised as more metabolites can be detected. Fast, simple and cost-effective screening is possible. Neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, panic disorders, major depression, bipolar disorders and autism-spectrum disorders have been investigated systematically using NMR spectroscopy. NMR metabolomics is used in the search for biomarkers of infectious diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and pneumonia, neurological disorders and Parkinson’s disease. NMR metabolomics has been used in the identification of biomarker for cardiovascular diseases and risk stratification. It has also been used in cancer diagnosis and therapy. NMR metabolomics has been used to investigate processes like transformation, progression, proliferation and metastasis in cancer cell lines. Other examples for applications of NMR metabolomics include gastro-intestinal disorders, endocrine and nutritional disorders, disorders of the nervous system and respiratory system disorders. In the coming years, it is expected that further developments to overcome the technical limitations will take place, making it one of the key diagnostic modalities of the future.

Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Metabolomics, 1H MRS, 13C MRS, Inborn errors of metabolism, white matter disease, N-acetyl aspartate, Choline, Creatine, Citrate, Neurological disorders, Neuropsychiatric disorders, Cancer, Prostate cancer, Breast cancer, Skeletal muscle disorder, Cardiac MRS studies, Bowel disorders, Urinary biomarkers, Pediatric disorders.