Reversible increase in stress-associated neurobiological activity in the acute phase of Takotsubo syndrome; a brain F-FDG-PET study.

INTRODUCTION

Takotsubo syndrome (TTS) is triggered mostly by physical and/or emotional stress that is processed in stress-associated brain regions, including the amygdala. However, it remains unclear whether such stress-induced brain activity is associated with TTS onset.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We acquired brain [F]-2-fluoro-deoxy-d-glucose (F-FDG) positron emission tomography in 4 TTS patients (44-82 yrs., 3 women) on days 2-4 (acute phase) and days 29-40 (recovery phase) after diagnosis of TTS was made by coronary angiography and left ventriculogram. The F-FDG uptake was measured globally and also in the pre-defined regions of interest of the bilateral amygdala on the common Montreal Neurological Institute space; all F-FDG images were normalized using automated image pre-processing. Amygdalar activity was calculated by dividing the F-FDG uptake of the amygdala by the global brain uptake. Left ventriculograms showed that apical ballooning was typical at diagnosis and was then relieved in the recovery phase. Amygdalar activity in the acute phase (0.872 ± 0.032) was higher than in the recovery phase (0.805 ± 0.037) (P = 0.013).

CONCLUSIONS

We report here 4 cases of TTS showing higher amygdalar activity in the acute phase as compared with the recovery phase, suggesting that increased stress-induced neurobiological activity is associated with TTS onset.