TY - JOUR
T1 - Regional dopamine synthesis in patients with schizophrenia using L-[β-11C]DOPA PET
AU - Nozaki, Shoko
AU - Kato, Motoichiro
AU - Takano, Harumasa
AU - Ito, Hiroshi
AU - Takahashi, Hidehiko
AU - Arakawa, Ryosuke
AU - Okumura, Masaki
AU - Fujimura, Yota
AU - Matsumoto, Ryohei
AU - Ota, Miho
AU - Takano, Akihiro
AU - Otsuka, Akihiko
AU - Yasuno, Fumihiko
AU - Okubo, Yoshiro
AU - Kashima, Haruo
AU - Suhara, Tetsuya
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a consignment expense for the Molecular Imaging Program on “Research Base for Exploring New Drugs” from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japanese Government.
PY - 2009/3
Y1 - 2009/3
N2 - The dopamine hypothesis has been the most widely known theory concerning schizophrenia. However, the exact mechanism including presynaptic dopaminergic activity and its relationship with symptom severity still remains to be revealed. We measured presynaptic dopamine synthesis using positron emission tomography (PET) with L-[β-11C]DOPA in 18 patients with schizophrenia (14 drug-naïve and 4 drug-free patients) and 20 control participants. Dopamine synthesis rates, expressed as ki values, were obtained using a graphical method, and the occipital cortex was used as reference region. Regions of interest were placed on the prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, anterior cingulate, parahippocampus, thalamus, caudate nucleus, and putamen. Psychopathology was assessed with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). We found significantly higher ki values in patients than in controls in the left caudate nucleus, but not in the other regions. The ki values in the thalamus exhibited a significant positive correlation with the PANSS total scores. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was observed between the PANSS positive subscale scores and ki values in the right temporal cortex. Patients with schizophrenia showed higher dopamine synthesis in the left caudate nucleus, and dopaminergic transmission in the thalamus and right temporal cortex might be implicated in the expression of symptoms in schizophrenia.
AB - The dopamine hypothesis has been the most widely known theory concerning schizophrenia. However, the exact mechanism including presynaptic dopaminergic activity and its relationship with symptom severity still remains to be revealed. We measured presynaptic dopamine synthesis using positron emission tomography (PET) with L-[β-11C]DOPA in 18 patients with schizophrenia (14 drug-naïve and 4 drug-free patients) and 20 control participants. Dopamine synthesis rates, expressed as ki values, were obtained using a graphical method, and the occipital cortex was used as reference region. Regions of interest were placed on the prefrontal cortex, temporal cortex, anterior cingulate, parahippocampus, thalamus, caudate nucleus, and putamen. Psychopathology was assessed with the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). We found significantly higher ki values in patients than in controls in the left caudate nucleus, but not in the other regions. The ki values in the thalamus exhibited a significant positive correlation with the PANSS total scores. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was observed between the PANSS positive subscale scores and ki values in the right temporal cortex. Patients with schizophrenia showed higher dopamine synthesis in the left caudate nucleus, and dopaminergic transmission in the thalamus and right temporal cortex might be implicated in the expression of symptoms in schizophrenia.
KW - Dopamine synthesis
KW - PANSS
KW - Positron emission tomography (PET)
KW - Schizophrenia
KW - [C]DOPA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=60249091351&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=60249091351&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.schres.2008.11.006
DO - 10.1016/j.schres.2008.11.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 19056247
AN - SCOPUS:60249091351
SN - 0920-9964
VL - 108
SP - 78
EP - 84
JO - Schizophrenia Research
JF - Schizophrenia Research
IS - 1-3
ER -
