F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography metabolic pattern assessment in the brain of betel quid dependent individuals.

The primary objective of this study was to identify the metabolic pattern in the brains of betel quid dependent (BQD) individuals using F-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography ( F-FDG-PET). A total of 42 individuals (16 BQD individuals and 26 healthy controls, HCs) enrolled at the Department of Nuclear Medicine of Xiangya Hospital underwent brain F-FDG-PET. Group comparisons using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) were performed to identify the F-FDG-PET patterns. Standardized uptake value ratios of anterior cingulate, frontal, thalamus, parietal, occipital, temporal and cerebellum were calculated by SPM. The characteristics of abnormal metabolism in brain regions were quantified using the xjView toolbox, and a 3-D brain map was drawn using BrainNet Viewer. We found significant metabolic reduction in the bilateral middle prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the left orbital frontal gyrus (OFC). In contrast, hypermetabolism was observed in the inferior cerebellum, fusiform, superior cerebellum, parahippocampal, vermis, lingual and thalamus. However, we found no significant difference between the BQD and HC group in the anterior cingulate, thalamus, cerebellum and frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. In summary, we found abnormal F-FDG-PET metabolic pattern in BQD individuals, and this pattern may help the treatment of BQD.