Reduced midbrain serotonin transporter availability in drug-naïve patients with depression measured by SERT-specific [123I] nor-β-CIT SPECT imaging

Joensuu, Mikko; Tolmunen, Tommi; Saarinen, Pirjo I.; Tiihonen, Jari; Kuikka, Jyrki; Ahola, Pasi; Vanninen, Ritva; Lehtonen, Johannes

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2006.08.001

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 154, Issue 2 , Pages 125-131, 28 February 2007

Reduced midbrain serotonin transporter availability in drug-naïve patients with depression measured by SERT-specific [¹²³I] nor-β-CIT SPECT imaging

Mikko Joensuu
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, P.O. Box 1777, FIN-70211 Kuopio, Finland. Tel.: +358 50 3576445; fax: +358 17 172966.
Tommi Tolmunen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
Pirjo I. Saarinen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
Jari Tiihonen
- Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
Jyrki Kuikka
- Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
Pasi Ahola
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
Ritva Vanninen
- Department of Radiology, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland
Johannes Lehtonen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Kuopio, Kuopio, Finland

Received 2 September 2005; received in revised form 16 July 2006; accepted 9 August 2006.

Abstract

Earlier results have indicated that serotonin transporter (SERT) availability is altered in major depression. We examined SERT density with a more serotonin-specific ligand and with a larger number of patients than in previous studies. Twenty-nine antidepressant-naïve patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 19 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were studied with SPECT using [¹²³I] nor-β-CIT as a ligand. The patients had a significantly lower (−10%) binding potential in the midbrain region than controls. No correlation with depression severity was found. These findings indicate that SERT availability in the midbrain area is reduced in depression, and that interindividual variation is considerable in both patients and controls.