Metabolite alterations in basal ganglia associated with psychiatric symptoms of abstinent toluene users: a proton MRS study.
Long-term toluene abuse causes a variety of psychiatric symptoms. However, little is known about abnormalities at the neurochemical level in the living human brain after long-term exposure to toluene. To detect neurochemical changes in the basal ganglia of subjects with a history of long-term toluene use, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) was performed in 12 abstinent toluene users and 13 healthy comparisons with no history of drug abuse. N-acetylaspartate (NAA), creatine plus phosphocreatine (Cr + PCr), choline-containing compounds (Cho), and myo-inositol (MI) levels were measured in the left and right basal ganglia. The Cho/Cr + PCr ratio, a marker of membrane metabolism, was significantly increased in the basal ganglia of toluene users in comparison to that of the control subjects. Furthermore, the increase in the Cho/Cr + PCr ratio was significantly correlated with the severity of residual psychiatric symptoms. These findings suggest that long-term toluene use causes membrane disturbance in the basal ganglia, which is associated with residual psychiatric symptoms that persist even after long-term abstinence from toluene use.
Takebayashi
Kiyokazu
K
Department of Psychiatry and Neurology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan.
Sekine
Yoshimoto
Y
Takei
Nori
N
Minabe
Yoshio
Y
Isoda
Haruo
H
Takeda
Hiroyasu
H
Nishimura
Katsuhiko
K
Nakamura
Kazuhiko
K
Suzuki
Katsuaki
K
Iwata
Yasuhide
Y
Sakahara
Harumi
H
Mori
Norio
N
D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013375:Substance Withdrawal Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D014050:Toluene
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D014050:Toluene