123-I-ADAM-SPECT Imaging of Serotonin Transporters in Depressed Patients -Impact of gender to the relationship between SERT and psychopathological symptoms

Objective The aim was to determine whether characteristics of [123I]-ADAM binding in the midbrain, frontal lobe and cerebellum are related to different aspects of major depression (expressed by the HAMD items) and to analyse this relationship in samples of males and females separately. Material and Methods 28 nonmedicated patients with major depression (12 females and 16 males) were examined by [123I]-ADAM SPECT. Relationships between indices of [123I]-ADAM binding and different aspects of major depression were analyzed. The effect of confounding factors, as gender and age was examined. Results 1. The mean [123I]-ADAM binding ratios of midbrain-to-cerebellum in males and females were very similar. Counts measured in the midbrain and cerebellum were non-significantly higher in females than in males. Counts measured in the frontal lobe were significantly higher in females The findings were not affected by the age. 2. In the whole group of patients, there was no correlation between HAMD total score and the indices of the [123I]-ADAM binding in the regions of interest. We observed significant correlations between some of the HAMD items and these binding indices. There where gender-related differences in the correlation between ADAM binding and some psychopathological aspects of major depression. Some significant correlations in the whole group of patients were caused by females. This findings point to the need of a careful data analysis, separately for males and females.

This study was supported by Schering