Correlation between brain cortex metabolic and perfusion functions in subjective idiopathic tinnitus

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Subjective tinnitus is linked to abnormal brain metabolism and perfusion.
• Previous functional imaging studies used fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and technetium-99m (TC99m).
• No prior study has evaluated the association between brain metabolism and perfusion abnormalities in tinnitus patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between brain perfusion and metabolism abnormalities in subjects with tinnitus.
• To determine if abnormal brain metabolism and perfusion are associated in tinnitus patients.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 52 tinnitus patients.
• Utilized technetium-99m-ethylcysteinate dimer (TC99m-ECD) single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) and fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (F18-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET).
• Fused PET and SPECT results with MRI for anatomical localization; analyzed using Kendall's correlation, t-test, and chi-square tests.

Main Results:

• A significant correlation was observed between brain metabolic function and perfusion in the 52 tinnitus subjects (p=0.001).
• The study group comprised 42 males (76.4%).

Conclusions:

• There is a significant association between brain metabolic and perfusion abnormalities in individuals with tinnitus.
• This correlation suggests a potential link in the underlying pathophysiology of tinnitus.