Lucey JV, Costa DC, Adshead G, Deahl M, Busatto G, Gacinovic S, Travis M, Pilowsky L, Ell PJ, Marks IM, Kerwin RW. Brain blood flow in anxiety disorders. OCD, panic disorder with agoraphobia, and post-traumatic stress disorder on 99mTcHMPAO single photon emission tomography (SPET).
Br J Psychiatry 1997;
171:346-50. [PMID:
9373423 DOI:
10.1192/bjp.171.4.346]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
We compared regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in three groups of patients with DSM-III-R anxiety disorders.
METHOD
Fifteen patients with obsessive -compulsive disorder (OCD), 15 with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PA), and 16 with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a similar group of healthy controls were assessed on brain-dedicated high-resolution SPET.
RESULTS
MANOVA revealed significant rCBF differences between diagnostic groups (F = 4.4; d.f. = 3, 57; P = 0.007) and between cerebral regions (F = 6.4; d.f. = 1, 57; P = 0.01) in OCD and PTSD compared with PA and healthy controls, limited to bilateral superior frontal cortices and right caudate nuclei. Whole brain blood flow correlated positively with anxiety (r = 0.24, n = 46, P = 0.05). Beck depression scores correlated significantly negatively with left caudate rCBF (r = -0.24, n = 46, P = 0.05) and right caudate rCBF (r = -0.31, n = 46, P = 0.02). PTSD syndrome severity correlated significantly negatively with the left caudate (r = -0.49, n = 16, P = 0.03) and with right caudate rCBF (r = -0.7, n = 16, P = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS
Functional rCBF differences in anxiety disorders could relate to repetitive, intrusive, distressing mental activity, prominent in both OCD and PTSD.
Collapse