5-HT1A receptor and 5-HTT binding during the menstrual cycle in healthy women examined with [11C] WAY100635 and [11C] MADAM PET

Jovanovic, Hristina; Karlsson, Per; Cerin, Åsta; Halldin, Christer; Nordström, Anna-Lena

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.07.002

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 172, Issue 1 , Pages 31-37, 30 April 2009

5-HT_1A receptor and 5-HTT binding during the menstrual cycle in healthy women examined with [¹¹C] WAY100635 and [¹¹C] MADAM PET☆

Hristina Jovanovic
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Stockholm, Sweden
Per Karlsson
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Stockholm, Sweden
Åsta Cerin
- bKarolinska Institutet, Department of Woman and Child Health and Stockholm Brain Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Christer Halldin
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Stockholm, Sweden
Anna-Lena Nordström
- Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, Stockholm, Sweden
- Corresponding author. Karolinska Institute, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry Section, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel.: +46 8 517 744 65; fax: +46 8 517 717 53.

Received 31 August 2007; received in revised form 1 June 2008; accepted 4 July 2008.

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of the menstrual cycle phases on 5-HT_1A receptor and 5-HTT binding potentials (BPs) in healthy women by using positron emission tomography (PET). Women were investigated in the follicular and luteal phase of the menstrual cycle with radioligands [¹¹C]WAY10035 (n=13) and [¹¹C]MADAM (n=8) to study 5-HT_1A and 5-HTT BPs. The BPs values were quantified using the simplified reference tissue model. The phases of the menstrual cycle were characterized by transvaginal ultrasound (TSV) and plasma levels of hormones estradiol (E₂), progesterone (P₄), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH).The 5-HT_1A receptor and 5-HTT BPs did not significantly differ between follicular and luteal phases in any of the investigated regions. There were no significant correlations between the change in E₂ or P₄ values with the change in 5-HT_1A receptor or 5-HTT BPs. The results provide principally a new in vivo finding in human female biology, suggesting the absence of influence of menstrual cycle phase on 5-HT_1A receptors or 5-HTT. The finding however does not preclude that gonadal hormones differentially influence central serotonin system inwomen and men, which might contribute to gender differences in serotonin-associated disorders.