Lack of effect of oral choline supplement on the concentrations of choline metabolites in human brain

Recent reports suggest that oral choline supplement may alter the cerebral choline/creatine (Cho/Cr) ratio and might be used to treat neurodegenerative disorders of cholinergic transmission. Using both 1H and 31P MRS, we reexamined the Cho/Cr ratio and quantified cerebral choline and its major constituents: phosphoethanolamine (PE), phosphorylcholine (PC), glycerophosphorylethanolamine (GPE), and glycero‐phosphorylcholine (GPC). In the four brain locations examined, no significant increases in Cho/Cr, [Cho], or in its major constituents were found in response to an oral challenge of 50 mg/kg of choline bitartrate. Oral choline did not significantly affect human cerebral metabolism in the short term.

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