Regional cerebral glucose metabolic abnormalities in treatment-resistant depression:a preliminary study.

Objective The aim of the present study was to investigate regional cerebral glucose metabolic abnormalities in treatment-resistant depression(TRD).Methods Relative regional cerebral glucose metabolism was measured with fluorine-18 deoxyglucose(18F-FDG) positron emission tomography(PET) scan in 8 patients with treatment-resistant unipolar depression who met ICD-10 criteria for a depressive episode and 8 age-matched healthy controls under resting conditions.PET data was analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping(SPM2) analysis.Results Compared with controls,patients with TRD exhibited significant regional cerebral glucose metabolic abnormalities including significant decreases of regional cerebral glucose metabolism in the bilateral middle frontal gyrus,left orbitofrontal,inferior parietal and ventral anterior cingulate;right inferior frontal gyrus,right middle/inferior temporal gyrus,and bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate and significant increases of regional cerebral glucose metabolism in the right medial frontal,precentral and postcentral gyrus,right anterior temporal and insula,and bilateral cerebellum(P0.005).Conclusions A reciprocal metabolism pattern is represented between cortices and paralimic regions in patients with TRD.