title: Chronic high-dose nitrazepam dependence 123I-IMP SPECT and EEG studies.
abstract: A patient who took 50-100 mg nitrazepam per day for 25 years is presented. (123)I-IMP SPECT (autoradiography method) and EEG were performed sequentially on the subject during and after the withdrawal syndrome. Severe hypoperfusion of the whole brain on SPECT and diffuse slow activity on EEG were demonstrated during the withdrawal syndrome and subsequently remarkably improved. However, the hypofrontal pattern on both early and delayed images in SPECT was unchanged. The changes observed on SPECT and EEG reflect the pathophysiology of dependence and withdrawal. Additionally, the hypofrontal pattern remained unchanged suggesting that organic brain damage can develop as a result of chronic high-dose benzodiazepine abuse.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yurinosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kitabayashi
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Narumoto
authors.forename: Hideyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Iizumi
authors.forename: Hideto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tsuchida
authors.forename: Nobufumi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.forename: Shosaku
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukui