Correlation of region blood perfusion and glucose metabolism of the prefrontal lobes with clinical features in patients with first-episode depression

Abstract

To explore the cerebral blood flow (CBF) by three-dimensional arterial spin labeling (3D-ASL) and the standardized uptake value (SUV) of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) in the prefrontal lobe of patients with major depression disorder (MDD), and analyze their correlations with patients' depressive symptoms. 3D-ASL and 18F-FDG positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) were performed in 17 MDD patients and 16 healthy controls under the resting state. The depressive symptoms were classified into seven factors using Hamilton depression rating scale. Regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) and standardized uptake value (SUV) were compared between the patients and healthy controls using a two-sample t-test, and the correlation between the CBF and SUV with the patient Hamilton scores was examined using Spearman analysis. Decreased regional CBF values were present in the bilateral middle and the right superior frontal gyrus in patients, and decreased regional SUVs were observed in the bilateral superior, middle and inferior frontal gyrus. The significant correlation between the CBF and SUV values with the patients' Hamilton scores was mainly observed in the left middle, right middle and the right inferior frontal gyrus. 18F-FDG PET/CT is more sensitive than ASL in identifying the functional abnormalities in the prefrontal lobe. Decreased CBF and SUV in the prefrontal lobe closely correlate with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores. We speculate that the left middle frontal gyrus may be a key responsible functional region in patients with MDD.