title: Serotonin and dopamine transporter imaging in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
abstract: In obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), the success of pharmacological treatment with serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and atypical antipsychotic drugs suggests that both the central serotonergic and dopaminergic systems are involved in the pathophysiology of the disorder. We applied [123I]-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-idiophenyl)tropane (beta-CIT) and a brain-dedicated high-resolution single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system to quantify dopamine transporter (DAT) and serotonin transporter (SERT) availability. By comparing 15 drug-naïve patients with OCD and 10 controls, we found a significantly reduced availability (corrected for age) of striatal DAT and of thalamic/hypothalamic, midbrain and brainstem SERT in OCD patients. Severity of OCD symptoms showed a significant negative correlation with thalamic/hypothalamic SERT availability, corrected for age and duration of symptoms. Our data provide evidence for imbalanced monoaminergic neurotransmitter modulation in OCD. Further studies with more selective DAT and SERT radiotracers are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Leipzig, Stephanstrasse 11, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany. hessw@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
authors.forename: Swen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hesse
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lincke
authors.forename: Henryk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Barthel
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Villmann
authors.forename: Matthias C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Angermeyer
authors.forename: Osama
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sabri
authors.forename: Katarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stengler-Wenzke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000295:instrumentation; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008297:Male; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins