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Comprehensive Profiling of Dopamine Regulation in Substantia Nigra and Ventral Tegmental Area
Published on: August 10, 2012
Alteration of the striatal dopaminergic system in human narcolepsy
I Eisensehr1, R Linke, K Tatsch
1Departments of Neurology, University of Munich, Germany. eisen@nefo.med.uni-muenchen.de
Abstract:
Striatal D2/D3 dopaminergic receptors have been proposed to play a role in cataplexy. The authors studied the striatal presynaptic dopamine transporter and postsynaptic D2-receptors in seven patients with narcolepsy and seven control subjects using [123I](N)-(3-iodopropene-2-yl)-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-chlorophenyl)tropane and [123I](S)-2-hydroxy-3-iodo-6-methoxy-([1-ethyl-2-pyrrolidinyl]methyl)benzamide SPECT. D2-receptor binding was elevated in narcolepsy (p = 0.017) and correlated with the frequency of cataplectic and sleep attacks (R > or = 0.844, p < or = 0.017). The human striatal dopaminergic system is altered in vivo in narcolepsy/cataplexy.
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