[Clinical impact of cerebral dopamine-D2 receptor scintigraphy]

The present review describes findings and clinical indications for the dopamine D2 receptor scintigraphy. Methods for the examination of D2 receptors are positron emission tomography (PET) using 11C- or 18F-labelled butyrophenones or benzamides or single photon emission tomography (SPECT) using 123l-iodobenzamide (IBZM) respectively. The most important indication in neurology is the differential diagnosis of Parkinsonism: patients with early Parkinson's disease show an increased D2 receptor binding (D2-RB) compared to control subjects. However, patients suffering from Steele-Richardson-Olszewski-Syndrome or Multiple System Atrophy show a decreased D2-RB and are generally non-responsive to treatment. Postsynaptic blockade of D2 receptors results in a drug induced Parkinsonian syndrome, which can be diagnosed by D2 scintigraphy. Further possible indications occur in psychiatry: the assessment of receptor occupancy is useful in schizophrenic patients treated with neuroleptics. Additionally, D2 receptor scintigraphy might help to clarify the differential diagnosis between neuroleptic malignant syndrome and lethal catatonia. The method might be useful for supervising neurobiochemical changes in drug dependency and during withdrawal. Assessment of dopamine D2 receptor binding can simplify the choice of therapy in depressive disorder: patients showing a low D2 binding are likely to improve following an antidepressive drug treatment whereas sleep deprivation is promising in patients with high D2 binding.