Andrew Newberg1, Jay Amsterdam, Justine Shults. 1. Department of Radiology, Division of Nuclear Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. andrew.newberg@uphs.upenn.edu
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Increased levels of dopamine transporter (DAT) binding have been reported in patients with major depression. We used the selective DAT radiopharmaceutical Tc-TRODAT-1 and SPECT brain imaging, to examine differences in DAT levels in healthy subjects with and without depressive affect. METHODS: We compared striatal DAT binding affinity in 73 healthy subjects to their scores on the depressive symptoms subscale of the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Regions of interest in the basal ganglia of the brain were examined. Distribution volume ratios (DVRs) of Tc-TRODAT-1 binding affinity were calculated from the SPECT scan data, and comparisons among subjects with low and high depressive symptom ratings were calculated using unpaired t-tests and the Pearson correlation. RESULTS: We observed a greater Tc-TRODAT-1 DVR in the right caudate of subjects with high POMS mood scores compared to subjects with low scores on depressive items on the POMS (2.99+/-0.35 and 2.79+/-0.35, respectively; P=0.009). There was also a weak, but significant correlation between higher Tc-TRODAT-1 DVRs in the right caudate and depressive symptoms scores (r=0.23, P=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that Tc-TRODAT-1 binding affinity to DAT sites may be associated with depressive affect in healthy subjects. The finding also supports prior observations of greater Tc-TRODAT-1 DVRs in patients with major depressive episode.
OBJECTIVES: Increased levels of dopamine transporter (DAT) binding have been reported in patients with major depression. We used the selective DAT radiopharmaceutical Tc-TRODAT-1 and SPECT brain imaging, to examine differences in DAT levels in healthy subjects with and without depressive affect. METHODS: We compared striatal DAT binding affinity in 73 healthy subjects to their scores on the depressive symptoms subscale of the Profile of Mood States (POMS). Regions of interest in the basal ganglia of the brain were examined. Distribution volume ratios (DVRs) of Tc-TRODAT-1 binding affinity were calculated from the SPECT scan data, and comparisons among subjects with low and high depressive symptom ratings were calculated using unpaired t-tests and the Pearson correlation. RESULTS: We observed a greater Tc-TRODAT-1 DVR in the right caudate of subjects with high POMS mood scores compared to subjects with low scores on depressive items on the POMS (2.99+/-0.35 and 2.79+/-0.35, respectively; P=0.009). There was also a weak, but significant correlation between higher Tc-TRODAT-1 DVRs in the right caudate and depressive symptoms scores (r=0.23, P=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that Tc-TRODAT-1 binding affinity to DAT sites may be associated with depressive affect in healthy subjects. The finding also supports prior observations of greater Tc-TRODAT-1 DVRs in patients with major depressive episode.
Authors: Mark J Ferris; Rodrigo A España; Jason L Locke; Joanne K Konstantopoulos; Jamie H Rose; Rong Chen; Sara R Jones Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2014-06-16 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Andrew B Newberg; Mijail Serruya; Andrew Gepty; Charles Intenzo; Todd Lewis; Daniel Amen; David S Russell; Nancy Wintering Journal: PLoS One Date: 2014-01-24 Impact factor: 3.240