title: A 4-year dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging study in neuroleptic-naive first episode schizophrenia patients.
abstract: Alterations in the dopaminergic system have long been implicated in schizophrenia. A key component in dopaminergic neurotransmission is the striatal dopamine transporter (DAT). To date, there have been no longitudinal studies evaluating the course of DAT in schizophrenia. A 4-year follow-up study was therefore conducted in which single photon emission computed tomography was used to measure DAT binding in 14 patients and 7 controls. We compared the difference over time in [(123)I] FP-CIT striatal/occipital uptake ratios (SOUR) between patients and controls and the relationship between this difference and both symptomatology and functional outcome at follow-up. We also calculated the relationship between baseline SOUR, symptoms and functional outcome at follow-up. There were no statistically significant differences between patients' SOUR changes over time and those of controls. A significant negative correlation was observed between patients' SOUR changes over time and negative symptomatology at follow-up. A significant negative correlation was also found between baseline SOUR in patients and negative symptomatology, and there was a significant association between lower SOUR at baseline and poor outcome. Although the study found no overall differences in DAT binding during follow-up between schizophrenia patients and controls, it demonstrated that differences in DAT binding relate to patients' characteristics at follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Psiquiatria, Centre Fòrum Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain. manesantacana@yahoo.es
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mané
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gallego
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lomeña
authors.forename: Jose Javier
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mateos
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fernandez-Egea
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Horga
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cot
authors.forename: Javier
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pavia
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bernardo
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Parellada
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods; D014326:Tropanes / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D014326:Tropanes; C087552:2-carbomethoxy-8-(3-fluoropropyl)-3-(4-iodophenyl)tropane