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. 2000 Jan;157(1):127-9.
doi: 10.1176/ajp.157.1.127.

Striatal dopaminergic D(2) receptor density measured by [(123)I]iodobenzamide SPECT in the prediction of treatment outcome of alcohol-dependent patients

J Guardia  1 , A M Catafau, F Batlle, J C Martín, L Segura, B Gonzalvo, G Prat, I Carrió, M Casas
Affiliations

Striatal dopaminergic D(2) receptor density measured by [(123)I]iodobenzamide SPECT in the prediction of treatment outcome of alcohol-dependent patients

J Guardia et al. Am J Psychiatry. 2000 Jan.

Abstract

Objective: The authors' goal was to study striatal dopaminergic dopamine 2 (D(2)) receptors as a biological marker of early relapse in detoxified alcoholic patients by using [(123)I]iodobenzamide ([123I]IBZM) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

Method: The authors performed [(123)I]IBZM SPECT on 21 alcohol-dependent inpatients during detoxification and on nine healthy volunteers, using the ratios of basal ganglia to occipital lobes for SPECT quantification. Depending on treatment outcome 3 months after hospital discharge, patients were determined to be relapsers or nonrelapsers.

Results: Alcohol-dependent subjects with early relapse (within 3 months after hospital discharge) showed a higher uptake of [(123)I]IBZM in the basal ganglia during detoxification (mean ratio=1.83, SD=0.9) than patients who did not have early relapse (mean ratio=1.69, SD=0.11).

Conclusions: These results suggest that low levels of dopamine, or an increased density of free striatal dopaminergic D(2) receptors, could be related to early relapse in alcohol-dependent patients. Therefore, [(123)I]IBZM SPECT could become a biological marker of vulnerability to relapse for alcoholic patients in recovery.

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