Differences of 18F-FDG utilization in nerve cells between first-episode depression patients and recurrent depression patients by PET/CT

Abstract

Objective To explore the differences of two types of depressions through observing brain nerve cells metabolism of 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) uptake and utilization in the first-episode depression patients and recurrent depression patients. Methods Thirty-five first-episode depression patients, 35 recurrent depression patients and 35 healthy volunteers, collected in our hospital from January 2014 to January 2016, were chosen in our study; intravenous injection of 18F-FDG was performed, and the glucose uptake data in various brain regions were collected by PET/CT; the brain regions with different absorption were analyzed through SPM software; dynamic metabolic rate of glucose after identifying the overlapping absorb different brain regions in these two types of depression was measured and compared. Results As compared with that in the healthy control group, the glucose uptake in the bilateral cingulate gyrus, the left striatum, the bilateral hippocampus, the right thalamus, the left middle frontal gyrus, the left middle temporal gyrus and the right superior temporal gyrus were decreased in the first-episode depression group. As compared with that in the healthy control group, the glucose uptake in the bilateral cingulate gyrus, the bilateral striatum, the bilateral hippocampus, the right thalamus, the left superior frontal gyrus, the right middle temporal gyrus, the left inferior temporal gyrus and the right lingual gyrus were decreased in the recurrent depression group. As compared with those in the first-episode depression group, the metabolic clearance rates at 60-80 min and 60-100 min in the left cingulate gyrus and left hippocampus were significantly decreased in the recurrent depression (P<0.05). Conclusion The disorder of 18F-FDG uptake appears in multiple brain regions in the first-episode depression and recurrent depression patients; there are some overlap regions; the 18F-FDG metabolism rate decreases in the left cingulate gyrus and left hippocampus in the recurrent depression, the glucose energy utilization disorder in nerve cells maybe a potential mechanism causing the differences between the two kinds of depression. Key words: Depression; Glucose uptake; Glucose metabolism; Nerve cell