Changes of regional cerebral blood flow in patients with depressive disorder detected by single photon emission computerized tomography

Xufeng JIANG; Peiyong LI; Jiange ZHANG; Gang CHEN; Jinling YU; Biao LI; Chengmo ZHU

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

Decrease of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) perfusion of different degree exists in depressive patients, but the decreased ranges were different, different cerebral cortical and subcortical regions are involved.

OBJECTIVE:

To observe the types of abnormal rCBF perfusion in patients with depressive disorder.

DESIGN:

A diagnosis-based case-control analysis.SETTINGS Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to the Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University; Staff Room of Biomedical Engineering, Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University;Putuo District Mental Health of Shanghai City.

PARTICIPANTS:

The patients with depressive disorder were selected from the Putuo District Mental Health Center from January 1999 to December 2000, and 19 normal subjects matched by age were selected from the medical staff of the hospital as normal controls.

METHODS:

The patients with depressive disorder and healthy subjects were examined by single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT), ethyl cysteinate dimmer (99Tcm-ECD) was performed, and the images were analyzed with the statistical parametric mapping (SPM). All the SPECT images were converted into DICOM format or ANALYZE-7 format at first, and then the images were standardized by taking MRI template as the template and smoothed, and the significantly different regions were evaluated by the statistical analysis and inferences with the Gaussian random theory.MAIN OUTCOME

MEASURES:

The differences of the cerebral blood flow perfusion in specific region and the changes of average rCBF images were mainly observed in the depressive disorder group and normal control group.

RESULTS:

All the 12 patients with depressive disorder and 19 normal healthy subjects entered the analysis of results. The SPM showed that the blood flow perfusion was decreased in bilateral frontal lobes, left superior temporal gyrus, left Brodmann area 20, left mamillary body of thalamus,right cingulated gyrus and right putamen in the patients with depressive disorder. The blood flow perfusion was increased in the right central frontal gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus, right occipital lobe and left central frontal gyrus.

CONCLUSION:

The rCBF is obviously changed in the frontal lobe, temporal lobe and limbic system of patients with depressive disorder.