Analysis of cerebral amine metabolism in mood disorders and anxiety disorders by positron emission tomography.

我们用新合成的放射性酪氨酸类似物[18F-FAmT]作为PET示踪剂，对情绪障碍患者进行了脑内儿茶酚胺代谢的测定。而18F-FAmT摄取值在患者组和对照组之间无显著性差异。我们还用地塞米松（DEX）/促肾上腺皮质激素释放激素（CRH）联合试验检测了下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺轴（HPA）抑制患者的功能。大约70%的急性抑郁发作患者被确定为非抑制者，其血浆皮质醇高于对照组（CRH给药后超过5 μ g/dl）。6例非抑制型糖尿病患者的糖代谢异常区明显低于性别、年龄匹配的健康对照组（P<0.05）。提示心境障碍患者HPA功能障碍与海马糖代谢异常有关。

We conducted the measurement of catecholamine metabolism in patients Buffered with mood disorder with PET using anewly synthesized [18F]fluoro- alpha -methyl-L-tyrosine (18F-FAmT), a radioactive tyrosine analogue, as suitable PET tracer forobservation of catecholamine synthesis in living brain. However, no significant difference was observed in 18F-FAmT uptakevalue between patients and controls. We also examined the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) indepressed patients using combined dexamethasone (DEX)/corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) test. Approximately 70 %of patients in acute depressive episode were determined as non-suppressors with higher plasma cortisol than controls (morethan 5 mu g/dl after CRH administration). Moreover, 6 non-suppressors showed significant lower glucose metabolism inhippocampal region (p<0.05) as compared with sex and age-matched healthy controls. These results suggest the relationshipbetween the HPA dysfunction and abnormal hippocampal glucose metabolism in mood disorders.