Researchers at Medical School, Department of Psychiatry target Tourette syndrome therapy
2007 NOV 12 -- New research, 'Phasic dysfunction of dopamine transmission in Tourette's syndrome evaluated with 99mTc TRODAT-1 imaging,' is the subject of a report. According to recent research published in the journal Psychiatry Research, "This study investigated the complex dysregulation of the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system in Tourette's syndrome (TS) patients challenged with methylphenidate (MPH). Eight drug-naïve male patients (aged 21-25 years) who met DSM-IV criteria for TS and had a mean disease severity of 25 on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale were recruited." "Brain (99m)TC TRODAT-1 dopamine transporter (DAT) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was performed 5 days before, and 2 h after 10 mg of orally administered MPH. Eight age-matched healthy males served as controls. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to measure differences in DAT-binding ratios before and after MPH challenge between the TS patients and controls. The DAT-binding ratios decreased significantly after MPH treatment in both groups. However, a significant interaction between group and MPH effects was found only in the right caudate, which was mainly due to a smaller decline of the DAT-binding ratio after MPH in the TS group than in the controls. Such a distinction was not found in the other striatal sub-regions in the two groups. No correlation, however, was observed between the tic severity score and DAT-binding ratio measured from the whole striatum or its sub-regions. The observed change in the DAT-binding ratio might indicate a functional abnormality of the dopaminergic system in the right caudate nucleus of TS patients," wrote C.B. Yeh and colleagues, Medical School, Department of Psychiatry. The researchers concluded: "Future studies exploring dopamine transmission are thus needed to understand the pathophysiology of TS." Yeh and colleagues published their study in Psychiatry Research (Phasic dysfunction of dopamine transmission in Tourette's syndrome evaluated with 99mTc TRODAT-1 imaging. Psychiatry Research, 2007;156(1):75-82). For additional information, contact C.B. Yeh, Tri-Service General Hospital, Dept. of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical School, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. The publisher's contact information for the journal Psychiatry Research is: Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd., Customer Relations Manager, Bay 15, Shannon Industrial Estate, Co. Clare, Ireland. Keywords: Taiwan, Taipei, Tourette Syndrome Therapy, Central Nervous System Disease, Dopamine Hydrochloride, Drugs, Pharmaceuticals, Psychiatry, Therapy, Tourette Syndrome, Treatment. This article was prepared by Pain & Central Nervous System Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Pain & Central Nervous System Week via NewsRx.com.
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