INSERM, Research Unit 1000 "Neuroimaging and Psychiatry", Paris Saclay University, Paris Descartes University, DIGITEO Labs, Gif sur Yvette, France.
INSERM, Research Unit 1000 "Neuroimaging and Psychiatry", Paris Saclay University, Paris Descartes University, DIGITEO Labs, Gif sur Yvette, France; EPS Barthelemy Durand, Etampes, France.
J Affect Disord. 2020 Feb 1;262:273-277. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.10.041. Epub 2019 Oct 30.
A reduced presynaptic dopamine neurotransmission has long been implicated in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, molecular imaging studies that assessed the dopamine transporter (DAT) availability have led to inconsistent results, partly due to methodological considerations, and to exclusive focus on the striatum, precluding findings in extra-striatal regions.
Herein, we leveraged our database of high-resolution Positron Emission Tomography (PET) images acquired with a highly selective radiotracer, [C]PE2I, to assess striatal and extra-striatal DAT availability in eight patients treated for depression compared to twenty-four healthy controls.
Statistical parametric mapping and voxel-based analyses of PET images detected a significant lower DAT availability in depressed patients within the superior part of the midbrain (right, p = 0.002; left, p = 0.006), a region including the ventral tegmental area and the substantia nigra from where the mesocorticolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine pathways originate. A similar difference was found in the right dorsal putamen (p = 0.012).
The statistical power was limited to detect only large effects, due to the size of the patients' sample.
The findings support the hypothesis that a reduced presynaptic dopamine function plays a role in the pathophysiology of depression, and that extra-striatal dopamine function should be further investigated.
多巴胺神经传递减少长期以来一直被认为与重度抑郁症（MDD）有关。然而，评估多巴胺转运体（DAT）可用性的分子影像学研究得出的结果并不一致，部分原因是方法学上的考虑，以及仅限于纹状体，排除了在纹状体外区域的发现。
在此，我们利用我们的高分辨率正电子发射断层扫描（PET）图像数据库，这些图像是使用高度选择性的示踪剂 [C]PE2I 获得的，以评估接受抑郁症治疗的 8 名患者与 24 名健康对照者的纹状体和纹状体外 DAT 可用性。
对 PET 图像的统计参数映射和体素基分析检测到抑郁患者中中脑上部分（右侧，p = 0.002；左侧，p = 0.006）的 DAT 可用性显著降低，该区域包括腹侧被盖区和黑质从中脑边缘多巴胺通路和黑质纹状体多巴胺通路起源。右侧背侧壳核也发现了类似的差异（p = 0.012）。
由于患者样本的大小，统计功效仅限于检测大的影响。
这些发现支持这样一种假设，即多巴胺前突功能降低在抑郁症的病理生理学中起作用，并且应该进一步研究纹状体外多巴胺功能。
