Proton nuclear magnetic resonance detects leucine, 2,3-butanediol, and a prominent increase in the level of choline in the sera from patients chronically infected with schistosomiasis japonica.

: 1H-NMR spectroscopy with 'Hahn' spin-echo pulse sequence has been employed to investigate the metabolic profiles of sera of chronic patients with schistosomiasis japonica, and compared with those of healthy volunteers and former patients who had been treated successfully. 1H-NMR clearly detected 2,3-butanediol and leucine, and markedly elevated levels of choline in sera from the chronic patients. Profiles of the sera from former patients were essentially similar to those from healthy volunteers, except that ketone bodies (3-hydroxybutyrate and acetone) were detectable in sera from 58% of the former patients but not in those of the normal controls patients.