Listeria rhombencephalitis is caused by infection with Listeria monocytogenes 
and is associated with a high mortality rate in humans and ruminants. Little is 
known about the metabolic changes associated with neurolisteriosis in particular 
and infectious central nervous system (CNS) diseases in general. The purpose of 
our study was to investigate the metabolic changes associated with listeria 
rhombencephalitis in small ruminants (goats and sheep) as a model for 
inflammatory CNS disease by 1 H high-resolution magic angle spinning nuclear 
magnetic resonance (1 H HR-MAS NMR) spectroscopy of brain biopsies obtained from 
the brainstem and thalamus. Statistical analysis revealed distinct differences 
in the metabolic profile of brainstem biopsies, the primary location of listeria 
rhombencephalitis with moderate or severe inflammatory changes. 
N-Acetylaspartate (NAA), N-acetylaspartylglutamate, choline, myo-inositol and 
scyllo-inositol were decreased, and glycine, phosphocholine, taurine and lactate 
were increased, in the diseased group (n = 13) in comparison with the control 
group (n = 12). In the thalamus, which showed no or only mild inflammatory 
changes in the majority of animals, no statistically significant metabolic 
changes were observed. However, trends for metabolic alterations were partly the 
same as those found in the brainstem, including NAA, choline and lactate. This 
may be an indicator of metabolic changes occurring in the early stages of the 
disease. Therefore, further research with a larger number of animals is needed 
to evaluate the presence of subtle metabolic changes associated with mild 
inflammatory changes in the thalamus. In conclusion, 1 H HR-MAS NMR 
investigation of listeria rhombencephalitis identified brain metabolite changes, 
offering new insights into the disease pathophysiology.