Striatal dopamine D2 receptors in patients with narcolepsy measured with PET and 11C-raclopride.

We investigated in vivo D2 receptor binding using 11C-raclopride and PET in the striatum of 17 subjects with the narcoleptic syndrome. Putamen and caudate nucleus 11C-raclopride uptake was comparable in the total patient group and controls, and the tracer uptake was similar in the HLA-DR2-positive (n = 12) and HLA-DR2-negative (n = 5) narcoleptic subjects. There was a significant increase in 11C-raclopride uptake in the putamen of narcoleptic subjects older than 31 years (n = 11) when compared with age-matched controls (n = 15). There was no evidence of involvement of the striatal D2 dopaminergic neurotransmitter system in the basic pathophysiology of the narcoleptic syndrome despite an age-related increase in putaminal 11C-raclopride uptake.