Effects of medication on dopamine transporter imaging using [¹²³I]I-FP-CIT SPECT in routine practice

Dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging is used to support the diagnosis of neurodegenerative parkinsonian disorders. Specific medications have been reported to confound the interpretation of [¹²³I]I-FP-CIT SPECT scans, but there is limited data. The aim of the current study is to identify potential medication effects on the interpretation of [¹²³I]I-FP-CIT SPECT scans in routine practice.

Consecutive patients undergoing a [¹²³I]I-FP-CIT SPECT/CT scan on a 360° CZT camera between September 2019 and December 2022 were included. An exhaustive review of patient medications (antidepressants, antipsychotics, anti-epileptics, anti-parkinsonians, benzodiazepines, lithium, opioids, and stimulants) was performed. Two experienced nuclear physicians, blinded to the medication reports, interpreted the [¹²³I]I-FP-CIT SPECT scans visually and a semi-quantitative analysis was performed using a local normal database.

The study included 305 patients (71.0 ± 10.4, 135 women) and 145 (47.5%) visually interpreted normal scans. In normal scans, the striatum/occiput radioligand uptake ratio was decreased by noradrenergic and specific serotonergic antidepressants (NASSAs) (n = 15, z-score of - 0.93) and opioid medication (tramadol, n = 6, z-score of - 0.85) and was associated with a younger age in the multivariate analysis. In the overall population, the striatum/occiput ratio was influenced by NASSAs and associated with consensual visual analysis, age, sex, and anti-parkinsonian medications related to the status of the disease.

Our study confirms the potential impact of antidepressant (NASSA) and opioid (tramadol) medications on the semi-quantitative analysis of [¹²³I]I-FP-CIT SPECT scans. However, when performing a visual analysis, only NASSAs significantly impacted the interpretation of [¹²³I]I-FP-CIT SPECT scans.