title: Regional cerebral blood flow changes in chronic alcoholism using Tc-99m HMPAO SPECT. Comparison with CT parameters.
abstract: Twenty-eight patients were studied for regional cerebral blood flow changes as a result of chronic alcoholism. After the administration of 550 to 600 MBq Tc-99m HMPAO, tomographic slices were obtained using a SPECT camera. Eight regions per hemisphere were drawn on each transaxial section, and tracer redistribution was calculated for each region. Region-to-whole slice ratios were determined for each patient. Patients had significantly decreased frontal/whole slice (1 +/- 0.02) ratios in comparison with a normal group (p less than 0.01). Twenty-four out of 26 patients (85.7%) demonstrated abnormal rCBF. Eighteen out of 28 (64.3%) showed activity lower in the left hemisphere than in the right. Using CT parameters, 60% of the patients had either sulcal widening and/or ventricular enlargement. The frontal region and the left hemisphere were more affected by alcohol than other regions. More cerebral blood flow changes than morphologic changes were found caused by alcoholism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erbas
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bekdik
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Erbengi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Enünlü
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aytac
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumbasar
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dogan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D010091:Oximes; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D010091:Oximes; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime