title: Pattern of brain blood perfusion in tinnitus patients using technetium-99m SPECT imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Tinnitus is associated with an increased activity in central auditory system as demonstrated by neuroimaging studies. Brain perfusion scanning using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was done to understand the pattern of brain blood perfusion of tinnitus subjects and find the areas which are mostly abnormal in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A number of 122 patients with tinnitus were enrolled to this cross-sectional study. They underwent SPECT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain, and the images were fused to find the regions with abnormal perfusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SPECT scan results were abnormal in 101 patients (83%). Most patients had bilateral abnormal perfusion (N = 65, 53.3%), and most subjects had abnormality in middle-temporal gyrus (N = 83, 68%) and temporoparietal cortex (N = 46, 37.7%). Patients with multifocal involvement had the least mean age than other 2 groups (patients with no abnormality and unifocal abnormality) (P value = 0.045).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Brain blood perfusion pattern differs in patient with tinnitus than others. These patients have brain perfusion abnormality, mostly in auditory gyrus (middle temporal) and associative cortex (temporoparietal cortex). Multifocal abnormalities might be due to more cognitive and emotional brain centers involvement due to tinnitus or more stress and anxiety of tinnitus in the young patients.
authors.affiliation: Otorhinolaryngology Department, Hannover Medical University (MHH) and Center for Otorhinolaryngology Department, Hannover Medical University (MHH) and Center for Systems Neuroscience Hannover, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Fundation, Hannover, Germany, ENT AND Head & Neck Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, AND National Science Foundation (INSF), Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mahmoudian
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farhadi
authors.forename: Saeid
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gholami
authors.forename: Fariba
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saddadi
authors.forename: Ali Reza
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Karimian
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mirzaei
authors.forename: Esmaeel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ghoreyshi
authors.forename: Majid
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahmadizadeh
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lenarz