MMT EFFECTS ON RCMRGLC IN OPIATE DEPENDENT PATIENTS

美沙酮维持疗法(MMT)，阿片类药物的标准治疗- 据称，依赖患者通过其 在内源性阿片缺乏综合征中作为替代品的作用。 尽管如此，大脑持续性异常的直接证据 阿片依赖患者的功能，他们没有药物和 非法药物的滥用，是缺乏的。这项研究的目的是 通过使用[F-18]氟脱氧葡萄糖(FDG)来解决这个问题 正电子发射断层扫描(PET)分析局部脑区的方法 葡萄糖代谢率(S)、局部脑指数 功能。有鸦片依赖史的受试者 与非阿片滥用的对照组受试者进行比较 社会经济地位、性别和年龄。拟议中的研究将询问 以下问题：1)阿片类药物依赖与 区域脑功能的持续性异常，由 RCMRglc的测量(从以下方面的差异可以看出)；和2) RCMRglc的潜在异常，至少在戒酒患者中可见 与对照组相比，MMT停止后6个月， 接受MMT至少6个月的患者？这些问题的答案 问题会影响到这样一种理论，即长期存在的 内源性阿片类药物可导致持续性脑功能障碍 经MMT改善。 该项目的长期目标及其可能的扩展是 全面了解神经解剖学、骨质疏松症 与阿片成瘾有关的神经化学和临床因素，以及 它的治疗，以及设计更有效的治疗策略。

Methadone maintenance therapy (MMT), a standard treatment for opiate- dependent patients purportedly produces beneficial effects through its action as a substitute in an endogenous opioid deficiency syndrome. Nonetheless, direct evidence of persistant abnormalities in brain function of opiate-dependent patients, who are free of medication and illicit drugs of abuse, is lacking. The purpose of this study is to address this question by using the [F-18] fluorodeoxy glucose (FDG) method and positron emission tomography (PET) to assay regional cerebral metabolic rate(s) for glucose (rCMRglc), and index of local brain function. Subjects who have histories of opiate dependence will be compared with nonopiate-abusing control subjects matched for socioeconomic status, gender, and age. The proposed research will ask the following questions: 1) Is opiate dependence associated with persistent abnormalities in regional brain function, as assessed by measurement (as evidenced by differences in) of rCMRglc; and 2) Are potential abnormalities in rCMRglc, seen in abstinent patients at least six months after cessation of MMT as compared with controls, absent in patients who have received MMT for at least 6 months? Answers to these questions would have bearing on the theory that long-term deficiency of endogenous opioids leads to persistent cerebral dysfunction that can be ameliorated by MMT. The long-term goals of this project and its possible extensions are a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between neuroanatomical, neurochemical and clinical factors pertaining to opiate addiction, and its treatment, and the design of more effective therapeutic strategies.