Benzodiazepine receptor binding in Huntington's disease: [11C]flumazenil uptake measured using positron emission tomography.

We used positron emission tomography and [C-11]flumazenil to analyze the benzodiazepine receptor binding in symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers of the Huntington's disease gene. We found an inverse relationship between [C-11] flumazenil and [C-11]raclopride binding in the putamen of symptomatic patients, and interpret this result as GABA receptor upregulation.