Dopamine transporter brain imaging in children with autism / 临床儿科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the distribution of brain dopamine transporter (DAT) in children with autism by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Methods Brain SPECT imaging was performed in 10 autistic children and 10 normal children, and DAT distribution in different functional areas of brain were calculated and compared by semi-quantitative evaluation of tracer uptake. Results There were no differences in tracer uptake between left and right striatum either in autistic children or in normal children (P=0.556, 0.563), while the tracer uptake level in autistic children was significantly higher than that in normal children (P=0.018). Conclusions The striatum dopaminergic neurons are hyperactive in children with autism. SPECT is helpful for the diagnosis of autism.