Striatal dopamine transporter binding for predicting the development of delayed neuropsychological sequelae in suicide attempters by carbon monoxide poisoning: A SPECT study

• Published in: Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging 2011-12, Vol.194 (3), p.219-223
• Main Authors: Yang, Kai-Chun, Ku, Hsiao-Lun, Wu, Chia-Liang, Wang, Shyh-Jen, Yang, Chen-Chang, Deng, Jou-Fang, Lee, Ming-Been, Chou, Yuan-Hwa
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 99mTc-TRODAT; Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon monoxide poisoning (COP); Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - complications; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - pathology; Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - psychology; Cognition Disorders - chemically induced; Cognition Disorders - pathology; Corpus Striatum - diagnostic imaging; Corpus Striatum - metabolism; Delayed neuropsychological sequelae (DNS); Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism; Dopamine transporter (DAT); Female; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Status Schedule; Neuropsychological Tests; Organotechnetium Compounds - pharmacokinetics; Protein Binding - physiology; Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Radiology; Radiopharmaceuticals - pharmacokinetics; Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT); Suicide; Suicide, Attempted; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Tropanes - pharmacokinetics; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0925-4927; 1872-7506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.04.006

Abstract Carbon monoxide poisoning (COP) after charcoal burning results in delayed neuropsychological sequelae (DNS), which show clinical resemblance to Parkinson's disease, without adequate predictors at present. This study examined the role of dopamine transporter (DAT) binding for the prediction of DNS. Twenty-seven suicide attempters with COP were recruited. Seven of them developed DNS, while the remainder did not. The striatal DAT binding was measured by single photon emission computed tomography with99m Tc-TRODAT. The specific uptake ratio was derived based on a ratio equilibrium model. Using a logistic regression model, multiple clinical variables were examined as potential predictors for DNS. COP patients with DNS had a lower binding on left striatal DAT binding than patients without DNS. Logistic regression analysis showed that a combination of initial loss of consciousness and lower left striatal DAT binding predicted the development of DNS. Our data indicate that the left striatal DAT binding could help to predict the development of DNS. This finding not only demonstrates the feasibility of brain imaging techniques for predicting the development of DNS but will also help clinicians to improve the quality of care for COP patients.