Elevated Dopamine D sub(2/3) Receptor Availability in Obese Individuals: A PET Imaging Study with [ super(11)C](+)PHNO

• Published in: Neuropsychopharmacology (New York, N.Y.) N.Y.), 2016-12, Vol.41 (13), p.3042-3050
• Main Authors: Gaiser, Edward C, Gallezot, Jean-Dominique, Worhunsky, Patrick D, Jastreboff, Ania M, Pittman, Brian, Kantrovitz, Lauren, Angarita, Gustavo A, Cosgrove, Kelly P, Potenza, Marc N, Malison, Robert T, Carson, Richard E, Matuskey, David
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0893-133X
• DOI: 10.1038/npp.2016.115

Most prior work with positron emission tomography (PET) dopamine subtype 2/3 receptor (D sub(2/3)R) non-selective antagonist tracers suggests that obese (OB) individuals exhibit lower D sub(2/3)Rs when compared with normal weight (NW) individuals. A D sub(3)-preferring D sub(2/3)R agonist tracer, [ super(11)C](+)PHNO, has demonstrated that body mass index (BMI) was positively associated with D sub(2/3)R availability within striatal reward regions. To date, OB individuals have not been studied with [ super(11)C](+)PHNO. We assessed D sub(2/3)R availability in striatal and extrastriatal reward regions in 14 OB and 14 age- and gender-matched NW individuals with [ super(11)C](+)PHNO PET utilizing a high-resolution research tomograph. Additionally, in regions where group D sub(2/3)R differences were observed, secondary analyses of 42 individuals that constituted an overweight cohort was done to study the linear association between BMI and D sub(2/3)R availability in those respective regions. A group-by-brain region interaction effect (F sub(7, 182)=2.08, p=0.047) was observed. Post hoc analyses revealed that OB individuals exhibited higher tracer binding in D sub(3)-rich regions: the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA) (+20%; p=0.02), ventral striatum (VST) (+14%; p