Brain metabolic analysis of fatal familial insomnia

Abstract

Objective To investigate the characteristics of regional cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with fatal familial insomnia(FFI) using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose(18F-FDG) PET. Methods Patient 1 with symptoms for 2 months and patient 2 with symptoms for 6 months were studied by brain 18 F-FDG PET.Compared with 20 normal controls, the data were analyzed by visual analysis at first, and then each patient was compared with age-matched normal controls using statistical parametric mapping( SPM ). Results As compared with 10 normal controls, metabolic changes in patient 1 was characterized by hypometabolism in thalamus, parietal cortices, caudate nucleus, pre-frontal cortices and posterior cingulate gyrus ( t ＞ 2. 82,P ＜0. 01 ). In patient 2, these changes were more obvious (t ＞ 2. 82, P ＜ 0. 01 ) with metabolic decrease also shown in temporal and occipital cortices ( t ＞ 2. 82, P ＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusion In FFI patients, brain metabolism changes are mainly manifested as hypometabolism in thalamus and cerebral cortex. The metabolic changes in cerebral cortex will be more widely spread with the development of FFI. 18F-FDG PET imaging was a valuable method to evaluate patients with FFI. Key words: Insomnia, fatal familial; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Positron-emission tomography