Greater availability of dopamine transporters in patients with major depression — A dual-isotope SPECT study

Yang, Yen Kuang; Yeh, Tzung Lieh; Yao, Wei Jen; Lee, I Hui; Chen, Po See; Chiu, Nan Tsing; Lu, Ru Band

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2007.08.008

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 162, Issue 3 , Pages 230-235, 15 April 2008

Greater availability of dopamine transporters in patients with major depression — A dual-isotope SPECT study

Yen Kuang Yang
- Department of Psychiatry National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Corresponding author. Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University 138 Sheng Li Road, Tainan 70403, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 6 2353535x5213; fax: +886 6 2759259.
Tzung Lieh Yeh
- Department of Psychiatry National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Wei Jen Yao
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
I Hui Lee
- Department of Psychiatry National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Po See Chen
- Department of Psychiatry National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Nan Tsing Chiu
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
Ru Band Lu
- Department of Psychiatry National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan

Received 12 December 2006; received in revised form 18 June 2007; accepted 26 August 2007.

Abstract

In order to explore the neuropathology of the pre- and post-synaptic dopamine neurons of patients with major depression, we examined striatal D₂/D₃ receptor uptake and dopamine transporter (DAT) availability simultaneously in drug-free depressed patients using a dual-isotope single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging technique. Ten unmedicated patients with unmediated depression and ten healthy controls were recruited. The striatal dopamine D₂/D₃ receptor availability was measured using SPECT and [¹²³I] IBZM, while DAT was measured using SPECT and [^99mTc] TRODAT-1. The symptom changes of the drug-free patients were reassessed after a 4-week antidepressant treatment. DAT binding in the patient group were significantly higher than in control group. That was not the case, however, for striatal D₂/D₃ receptor availability. Pre-treatment striatal DAT availability correlated only marginally with changes in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale after 4 weeks of treatment. Central dopamine functions may be altered in patients with major depression, particularly in the pre-synaptic sites.

Keywords: Striatal D₂/D₃ receptor, Dopamine transporter, Major depression, SPECT, Healthy volunteer, Antidepressant