title: Regional cerebral glucose metabolic abnormality in Prader-Willi syndrome: A 18F-FDG PET study under sedation.
abstract: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder caused by the nonexpression of paternal genes in the PWS region of chromosome 15q11-13 and is the most common cause of human syndromic obesity.
  
  
  METHODS
  We investigated regional brain metabolic impairment in children with PWS by 18F-FDG PET. Sixteen children with PWS (9 males, 7 females; mean age +/- SD, 4.2 +/- 1.1 y) and 7 healthy children (4 males, 3 females; mean age +/- SD, 4.0 +/- 1.7 y) underwent brain 18F-FDG PET in the resting state. The images of PWS children were compared using statistical parametric mapping analysis with those of healthy children in a voxelwise manner.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Group comparison showed that children with PWS had decreased glucose metabolism in the right superior temporal gyrus and left cerebellar vermis, regions that are associated with taste perception/food reward and cognitive and emotional function, respectively. Metabolism was increased in the right orbitofrontal, bilateral middle frontal, right inferior frontal, left superior frontal, and bilateral anterior cingulate gyri, right temporal pole, and left uncus, regions that are involved in cognitive functions related to eating or obsessive-compulsive behavior. Interestingly, no significant metabolic abnormality was found in the hypothalamus, the brain region believed to be most involved in energy intake and expenditure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study describes the neural substrate underlying the abnormal eating behavior and psychobehavioral problems of PWS.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Eun
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong-Kyu
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Sang Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Ji-Hae
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sungdo David
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Kyung Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.forename: Yoo Joung
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.forename: An Hee
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Eun Kyung
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Yon Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Choe
mesh_terms: D000758:Anesthesia; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009683:Nuclear Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D011218:Prader-Willi Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005947:Glucose