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Abstract:
To examine possible metabolic frontal lobe alterations in IV heroin-dependent patients with different histories of concomitant substance use, N-acetylaspartate (NAA), a putative marker of neuronal viability, was measured by 1H-MRS. Compared with controls, NAA levels in patients were reduced by 7 in gray matter (p = 0.015) but not in white matter. To what extent comorbid conditions or substance use, including alcohol, contributed to these frontocortical metabolic changes remains to be elucidated.