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Increased Brainstem Serotonergic Transporter Availability in Adult Migraineurs: an [18F]FP-CIT PET Imaging Pilot Study

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Abstract

Purpose

Recent studies have proposed central serotonergic dysfunction as a major pathophysiology of migraine. We investigated serotonin transporter (SERT) availability in migraineurs using F-18-N-(3-fluoropropyl)-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl) nortropane ([18F]FP-CIT) positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods

Brain [18F]FP-CIT PET images were obtained in eight women with migraine during headache free phase and 12 healthy adult women, 120 min after injection of 185 MBq. Non-displaceable binding potential (BP ND) of [18F]FP-CIT, which is an estimate of SERT availability, was calculated at the brainstem and compared with clinical parameters.

Results

BP ND at the brainstem was significantly higher in adult migraineurs (n = 6, 1.15 ± 0.17) than healthy subjects (0.95 ± 0.14) (p = 0.04). Healthy subjects demonstrated negative correlation between brainstem BP ND and age (r = −0.64, p = 0.02), whereas this age-related decline pattern was not found in the migraineurs. Severity of migraine attack was significantly correlated with brainstem BP ND (r = 0.66, p = 0.02), when age and duration of illness were corrected.

Conclusions

Increased SERT availability in the brainstem of adult migraineurs indicates low serotonin neurotransmission during headache-free phase. Patients who experience more painful headaches have lower serotonin neurotransmission. [18F]FP-CIT PET is a useful in vivo imaging technique for evaluating brainstem SERT availability in migraineurs.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mi-Sun Ahn and Sun Young Oh for assistance in data acquisition; Jae Sung Lee for providing FMItool; Mi-Ok Kim, Jae-Hoon Baek, Ji-Han Kim and the rest of the staff at the Korea University Anam Hospital PET center for excellent technical assistance. This work was supported by Korea University Grants [K0931131, K0932081].

Conflict of Interest

Eunkyung Park, Yu Mi Hwang, Min Kyung Chu, and Ki-Young Jung declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical statement

The current study was approved by an institutional review board and has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments. All subjects in the study gave written informed consent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Eunkyung Park

  2. PET Center, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Eunkyung Park

  3. Center for Research Information, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Yu Mi Hwang

  4. Department of Neurology, Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Anyang, Republic of Korea

    Min Kyung Chu

  5. Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110-799, Republic of Korea

    Ki-Young Jung

Authors
  1. Eunkyung Park
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  2. Yu Mi Hwang
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  4. Ki-Young Jung
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ki-Young Jung.

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Park, E., Hwang, Y.M., Chu, M.K. et al. Increased Brainstem Serotonergic Transporter Availability in Adult Migraineurs: an [18F]FP-CIT PET Imaging Pilot Study. Nucl Med Mol Imaging 50, 70–75 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-015-0373-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13139-015-0373-x

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