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Published on: May 19, 2015
Severe somatization in women is associated with altered cerebral glucose metabolism
M Hakala1, H Karlsson, U Ruotsalainen
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Turku, Turku PET Centre, PET Unit and Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry and Accelerator Laboratory, Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.
Background:
Somatization is a clinical phenomenon characterized by multiple, medically unexplained somatic symptoms. The pathophysiology remains unknown. We aimed to test the hypothesis of a central nervous system dysfunction in the pathophysiology of this disorder.
Method:
We studied 10 female patients diagnosed as having somatization disorder or undifferentiated somatoform disorder with no current Axis I disorders according to DSM-IV. They were compared with 17 healthy female volunteers using brain [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET with MRI reference.
Results:
The patients had lower cerebral metabolism rates of glucose (P<0.05) in both caudate nuclei, left putamen and right precentral gyrus compared with healthy volunteers.
Conclusions:
This is the first study to demonstrate changes in brain metabolism in somatizing women. The regional cerebral hypometabolism is probably associated with the pathophysiology of somatization.
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