title: Elevated brain serotonin transporter availability in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A central serotonergic dysfunction is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of this study was to investigate the serotonin transporter availability in patients with OCD as an in vivo marker of the central serotonergic system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nine unmedicated (7 drug-naive) patients with OCD and 10 healthy control subjects were included and received single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 20.75 +/- 1.51 hours after injection of a mean 147.20 +/- 6.74 MBq [(123)I]-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([(123)I]beta-CIT). As a measure of brain serotonin transporter availability, a ratio of specific-to-nonspecific [(123)I]beta-CIT binding for the midbrain-pons (V(3)" = [midbrain/pons-occipital]/occipital) was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean specific-to-nonspecific ratios showed a 25% higher midbrain-pons [(123)I]beta-CIT binding in the patients as compared with healthy controls (2.26 +/-.37 vs. 1.81 +/-.23, p <.01). The difference remained significant after adjustment for clinical variables and controlling for age and gender. Stratification of the patients according to onset of the disorder revealed significant differences between controls and patients with early (childhood, adolescence) but not late (adult) onset of OCD.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study provides evidence of a serotonergic dysfunction in patients with OCD and suggests a serotonergic component in the pathophysiology of the disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Pogarell
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hamann
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pöpperl
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Juckel
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Choukèr
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zaudig
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Riedel
authors.forename: Hans-Jürgen
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Möller
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Hegerl
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tatsch
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003042:Cocaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008297:Male; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D012737:Sex Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C069723:2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane; D003042:Cocaine