Meta-Analysis of Molecular Imaging of Serotonin Transporters in Major Depression

Language
en
Document Type
Article
Issue Date
2017-01-31
Issue Year
2014
Authors
Gryglewski, Gregor
Lanzenberger, Rupert
Kranz, Georg S.
Cumming, Paul
Editor
Abstract

The success of serotonin-selective reuptake inhibitors has lent support to the monoamine theory of major depressive disorder (MDD). This issue has been addressed in a number of molecular imaging studies by positron emission tomography or single-photon emission computed tomography of serotonin reuptake sites (5-HTT) in the brain of patients with MDD, with strikingly disparate conclusions. Our meta-analysis of the 18 such studies, totaling 364 MDD patients free from significant comorbidities or medication and 372 control subjects, revealed reductions in midbrain 5-HTT (Hedges' g = −0.49; 95% CI: (−0.84, −0.14)) and amygdala (Hedges' g = −0.50; 95% CI: (−0.78, −0.22)), which no individual study possessed sufficient power to detect. Only small effect sizes were found in other regions with high binding (thalamus: g = −0.24, striatum: g = −0.32, and brainstem g = −0.22), and no difference in the frontal or cingulate cortex. Age emerged as an important moderator of 5-HTT availability in MDD, with more severe reductions in striatal 5-HTT evident with greater age of the study populations (P<0.01). There was a strong relationship between severity of depression and 5-HTT reductions in the amygdala (P = 0.01). Thus, molecular imaging findings indeed reveal widespread reductions of ˜10% in 5-HTT availability in MDD, which may predict altered spatial-temporal dynamics of serotonergic neurotransmission.

Journal Title
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism
Volume
34
Issue
7
Citation
Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism 34.7 (2014): S. 1096-1103. <http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1038/jcbfm.2014.82>
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