Low brain serotonin transporter binding in major depressive disorder

• Published in: Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging Vol. 202; no. 2; pp. 161 - 167
• Main Authors: Newberg, Andrew B., Amsterdam, Jay D., Wintering, Nancy, Shults, Justine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shannon Elsevier Ireland Ltd 31.05.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Basal ganglia; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarker; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - metabolism; Brain - pathology; Brain Mapping; Cinanserin - analogs & derivatives; Cinanserin - metabolism; Depression; Depressive Disorder, Major - pathology; Female; Functional Laterality; Humans; Iodine Radioisotopes - metabolism; Major depression; Male; Medial temporal lobe; Medical sciences; Midbrain; Middle Aged; Mood disorders; Predictive Value of Tests; Protein Binding - drug effects; Protein Binding - physiology; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Radiology; ROC Curve; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism; Serotonin transporter; Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT); Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Biomarker; Basal ganglia; Serotonin transporter; Major depression; Midbrain; Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT); Medial temporal lobe; Radionuclide study; Mood disorder; Human; Central nervous system; Biological marker; Depression; Basal ganglion; Single photon emission tomography; Photon; Encephalon
• ISSN: 0925-4927; 1872-7506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.12.015

We examined midbrain, medial temporal lobe, and basal ganglia serotonin transporter (SERT) distribution volume ratio (DVR) values in subjects with major depressive disorder versus healthy volunteers using a selective SERT radioligand and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We hypothesized that the DVR value for SERT binding would be lower in depressed versus non-depressed subjects. [123I]-ADAM SPECT scans were acquired from 20 drug free, depressed subjects and 20 drug-free depressed subjects and 10 drug-free healthy volunteers. The primary outcome measure was the DVR value for [123I]-ADAM uptake in the midbrain, medial temporal lobe, and basal ganglia regions. Depressed subjects demonstrated significantly lower DVR values in the midbrain, right and left medial temporal lobe, and right and left basal ganglia. There was significant probability that lower DVR values could distinguish between depressed and non-depressed subjects in the midbrain, medial temporal lobe, and the right and left basal ganglia. These findings confirm prior observations of lower SERT binding in depression, and suggest that low SERT binding may represent a putative biomarker of depression. Future studies are needed to confirm these observations.