Increased regional cerebral perfusion by 99mTc hexamethyl propylene amine oxime single photon emission computed tomography in post-traumatic stress disorder.
OBJECTIVE
Because of the treatment resistance and chronic affective lability of many post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients and the hypothesized association of these behaviors with temporal and limbic structures, a study was conducted to determine whether these patients would exhibit alterations in regional cerebral perfusion in the temporal and limbic regions compared with age-matched normal volunteers at rest.


METHODS
We studied 17 patients using 99mTc hexamethyl propylene amine oxime single photon emission computed tomography. Seven of the patients were on a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, five were on a tricyclic antidepressant, and five were on no medication at the time of the study. Patients were compared with eight age-matched normal controls.


RESULTS
All PTSD patients showed a relative increase in regional cerebral perfusion in the anterior and posterior cingulate regions bilaterally, the right temporal and parietal regions, the right caudate/putamen region, and the left orbital and hippocampal regions compared with the control group. When the group of PTSD patients who were free of medication were compared with the control group, increased regional cerebral perfusion was found in the right and left caudate/putamen regions and the right orbital and anterior cingulate cortex bilaterally.


CONCLUSIONS
PTSD is associated with increased regional blood flow in limbic areas and the right temporal and parietal cortex compared with age-matched normal volunteers.
Sachinvala
N
N
Sepulveda Veterans Affairs Medical Center, CA, USA.
Kling
A
A
Suffin
S
S
Lake
R
R
Cohen
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D006801:Humans; D008032:Limbic System / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D019690:Technetium Tc 99m Exametazime