Higher striatal dopamine transporters in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder: a SPECT study with [99mTc] TRODAT-1

Chang TT, Yeh TL, Chiu NT, Chen PS, Huang HY, Yang YK, Lee IH, Lu RB. Higher striatal dopamine transporters in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder: a SPECT study with [99mTc] TRODAT-1. Bipolar Disord 2010: 12: 102–106. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Objectives:  Dopamine has been implicated in the etiology of bipolar disorder. The aim of this study was to explore striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability in euthymic bipolar patients. Methods:  Seventeen drug-free euthymic bipolar patients were recruited. The availability of DAT was approximated using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with [99mTc] TRODAT-1. Results:  Compared to the controls, the euthymic bipolar patients had significantly higher availability of striatal DAT. Conclusions:  Even for patients in the euthymic state, the DAT availability is still higher than that of the controls.