Decreased hippocampal 5-HT2A receptor binding in major depressive disorder: in vivo measurement with [18F]altanserin positron emission tomography

Decreased Hippocampal 5-HT2A Receptor Binding in Older Depressed Patients Using [18F]Altanserin Positron Emission Tomography

“…This study included 11 cortical areas and the striatum using [ 18 F]altanserin in 11 depressed antidepressant-free subjects and matched controls. In a recent study (Mintun et al, 2004), we have found significant differences in hippocampal 5-HT 2A receptors in depressed subjects compared with controls in a primarily mid-life sample spanning young to older subjects (mean age of 49.6 years). In the current study, we sought to characterize the differences in 5-HT 2A receptor binding between older subjects with depression and controls, and to gather preliminary data on potential serotonin-binding differences in subgroups of older subjectsFearly-onset recurrent depression (EORD) and late-onset depression (LOD).…”

“…Older patients (n ¼ 16), age X50 years, were included in this study from a larger sample of 46 depressed subjects (Mintun et al, 2004). They were recruited to the WUSM Depression and Neuroimaging Center from the community by advertisement and from referrals.…”

“…PET images were obtained using a Siemens 961HR PET scanner (Siemens/CTI, Inc., Knoxville, KY). Image processing and quantitative analysis of receptor binding using a fourcompartment model kinetic analysis was performed as previously described (Mintun et al, 2004) to yield estimates of [ 18 F]altanserin binding to 5-HT 2A receptors, expressed as k3/k4 values.…”

“…Four comparison regions predicted not to have reduced 5-HT 2A receptors were occipital cortex, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, lateral temporal cortex, and superior parietal cortex. The cerebellum was used to provide an area that is very low in 5-HT 2A receptors (Pazos et al, 1987a) for use in compartmental modeling as described (Mintun et al, 2004). ROI were determined using a summed MPRAGE anatomic image, created in atlas coordinates, which had been created from all subjects in the study (see Figure 1).…”

“…Greater comorbidity has been hypothesized to result in a higher degree of neuroanatomical pathology, including increased white matter hyperintensities (Krishnan et al, 1997) and interruption in white matter tracts between basal ganglia and frontal cortex, potentially involving loss of cells with 5-HT 2A receptors. We quantitatively evaluated 5-HT 2A receptor binding using PET with [ 18 F]altanserin in selected brain regions (Mintun et al, 2004) of antidepressant-free patients with depression compared with agematched comparison subjects.…”