[sup 123 I] beta-CIT SPECT Imaging of Striatal Dopamine Transporter Binding in Tourette's Disorder

Malison, Robert T. MD
McDougle, Christopher J. MD
van Dyck, Christopher H. MD
Scahill, Lawrence MSN, MPH
Baldwin, Ronald M. PhD
Seibyl, John P. MD
Price, Lawrence H. MD
Leckman, James F. MD
Innis, Robert B. MD, PhD

Received Dec. 5, 1994; revision received March 20, 1995; accepted March 27, 1995. From the Department of Psychiatry, the Department of Diagnostic Radiology, and the Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn. Address reprint requests to Dr. Malison, Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit, Abraham Ribicoff Research Facilities, Connecticut Mental Health Center, 34 Park St., New Haven, CT 06519.
Supported by grant HD-03008 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; grants MH-25642, MH-30929, MH-44843, and MH-49351 from NIMH; grants RR-00125 and RR-06022 from the NIH Division of Research Resources; the Connecticut Department of Mental Health; and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (Drs. Malison, McDougle, and Leckman).
The authors thank S.S. Zoghbi, Ph.D., Y. Zea-Ponce, Ph.D., E.O. Smith, G. Wisniewski, L. Pantages-Torok, and Q. Ramsby for their assistance.

American Journal of Psychiatry 152(9):p 1359-1361, September 1995.

Objective

The authors examined whether subjects with Tourette's disorder have greater than normal striatal dopamine transporter densities, as suggested by previous post-mortem findings. Method: Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and [sup 123 I]2 beta-carbomethoxy-3 beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([sup 123 I] beta-CIT) were used to assess dopamine transporter levels in five adult patients with Tourette's disorder and five age- and gender-matched healthy comparison subjects. Results: Striatal [sup 123 I] beta-CIT binding was a mean of 37% (range equals 6%-79%) higher in the subjects with Tourette's disorder than in the comparison subjects, and each Tourette's disorder patient had a higher level than his or her paired comparison subject. Conclusions: These findings corroborate post-mortem results and support the hypothesis of a dysregulation in presynaptic dopamine function in Tourette's disorder.

(Am J Psychiatry 1995; 152:1359-1361)