Fluoxetine in Alzheimer's disease with severe obsessive compulsive symptoms and a low density of serotonin transporter sites.
The treatment of behavioral disturbances is particularly challenging in patients suffering from dementia. In an 80-year-old female patient with probable AD and severe obsessive and compulsive symptoms, we demonstrated a significant reduction in the density of serotonin transporter sites using 1231-beta-CIT SPECT. Treatment with fluoxetine for 6 months resulted in significant symptom relief and an increasing density of serotonin transporter sites when compared to the beginning of treatment. Therefore, this report provides evidence that fluoxetine is a treatment option for patients with AD and severe obsessive-compulsive symptoms and highlights the importance of the serotoninergic system.
J
J
Marksteiner
T
T
Walch
T
T
Bodner
P
P
Gurka
E
E
Donnemiller
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications*; D001665:Binding Sites; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D002352:Carrier Proteins; D005473:Fluoxetine; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012701:Serotonin; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human