Mannitol as a Potential Pitfall for Peak Assignment on Magnetic Resonance Spectra (MRS) for Brain Tumors: A Case Report

non-invasive technique that provides information about metabolites present in brain tissue. Thus, the use of MRS may potentially raise the diagnostic specificity and improve the diagnostic capacity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Since MRS may provide additional information about patient prognosis and response to treatment, MRS has recently become a prevalent technique (1-3). It is rare to find examples of MRS that demonstrate the presence of a peak associated with mannitol, which is a substance commonly used to control cerebral edema in brain tumors. The presence of mannitol can cause confusion in the interpretation of MRS. We report here a case where recognition of a characteristic mannitol peak seen in the MR spectra of a 43-year-old woman with recurrent meningioma helped in the interpretation of MRS. Case Report