title: Association of central serotonin transporter availability and body mass index in healthy Europeans.
abstract: Serotonin-mediated mechanisms, in particular via the serotonin transporter (SERT), are thought to have an effect on food intake and play an important role in the pathophysiology of obesity. However, imaging studies that examined the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and SERT are sparse and provided contradictory results. The aim of this study was to further test the association between SERT and BMI in a large cohort of healthy subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  127 subjects of the ENC DAT database (58 females, age 52 ± 18 years, range 20-83, BMI 25.2 ± 3.8 kg/m(2), range 18.2-41.1) were analysed using region-of-interest (ROI) and voxel-based approaches to calculate [(123)I]FP-CIT specific-to-nonspecific binding ratios (SBR) in the hypothalamus/thalamus and midbrain/brainstem as SERT-specific target regions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the voxel-based analysis, SERT availability and BMI were positively associated in the thalamus, but not in the midbrain. In the ROI-analysis, the interaction between gender and BMI showed a trend with higher correlation coefficient for men in the midbrain albeit not significant (0.033SBRm(2)/kg, p=0.1).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The data are in agreement with previous PET findings of an altered central serotonergic tone depending on BMI, as a probable pathophysiologic mechanism in obesity, and should encourage further clinical studies in obesity targeting the serotonergic system.
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Leipzig University Medical Center, Integrated Research and Treatment Centre (IFB) Adiposity Diseases, Leipzig, Germany. Electronic address: swen.hesse@medizin.uni-leipzig.de.
authors: Swen
authors: S
authors: Hesse
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Elsmarieke
authors: E
authors: van de Giessen
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors: Franziska
authors: F
authors: Zientek
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Centre for Clinical Studies, Leipzig, Germany.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Petroff
authors: Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine (TRM) Leipzig, Germany.
authors: Karsten
authors: K
authors: Winter
authors: Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University College London Hospital, London, UK.
authors: John C
authors: JC
authors: Dickson
authors: Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust, Southampton, UK.
authors: Livia
authors: L
authors: Tossici-Bolt
authors: University of Szeged, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Euromedic Szeged, Szeged, Hungary.
authors: Terez
authors: T
authors: Sera
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.
authors: Susanne
authors: S
authors: Asenbaum
authors: Nuclear Medicine Department, Centre Antoine Lacassagne, University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis, Nice, France.
authors: Jacques
authors: J
authors: Darcourt
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gazi University, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors: Umit O
authors: UO
authors: Akdemir
authors: Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet - University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors: Gitte M
authors: GM
authors: Knudsen
authors: Clinical Neurophysiology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Ophthalmology and Genetics, San Martino Hospital, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
authors: Flavio
authors: F
authors: Nobili
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, CNR, Rome & Padua, Italy.
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Pagani
authors: Nuclear Medicine Division, Université Catholique de Louvain, Mont-Godinne Medical Center, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors: Thierry
authors: T
authors: Vander Borght
authors: Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors: Koen
authors: K
authors: Van Laere
authors: Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Varrone
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Department of Nuclear Medicine, Municipal Hospital Karlsruhe Inc., Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors: Klaus
authors: K
authors: Tatsch
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Leipzig University Medical Center, Integrated Research and Treatment Centre (IFB) Adiposity Diseases, Leipzig, Germany.
authors: Osama
authors: O
authors: Sabri
authors: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Jan
authors: J
authors: Booij
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014326:Tropanes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D014326:Tropanes; C087552:2-carbomethoxy-8-(3-fluoropropyl)-3-(4-iodophenyl)tropane
keywords: 5-HTT; BMI; FP-CIT; Obesity; SPECT; Serotonin