MMT EFFECTS ON RCMRGLC IN OPIATE DEPENDENT PATIENTS

美沙酮维持治疗（MMT），一种阿片类药物的标准治疗方法- 依赖性患者据称通过其 在内源性阿片样物质缺乏综合征中作为替代物的作用。 尽管如此，大脑持续异常的直接证据 阿片类药物依赖患者的功能，他们没有药物， 滥用药物，缺乏。 本研究的目的是 通过使用[F-18]氟脱氧葡萄糖（FDG）解决这个问题 方法和正电子发射断层扫描（PET）检测局部脑 葡萄糖代谢率（rCMRglc）和局部脑指数 功能 有阿片类药物依赖史的受试者将 与匹配的非阿片类药物滥用对照组相比， 社会经济地位、性别和年龄。 这项拟议的研究将问 以下问题：1）阿片类药物依赖与 局部脑功能持续异常，如通过 rCMRglc的测量（如差异所证明）;以及2） rCMRglc的潜在异常，至少在禁欲患者中观察到 与对照组相比，MMT停止后6个月， 接受MMT治疗至少6个月的患者？ 回答这些 问题将对理论产生影响，即长期缺乏 内源性阿片类药物导致持续性脑功能障碍， 由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， 与阿片成瘾有关的神经化学和临床因素，以及 它的治疗和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.