(+) -alpha-[11C]Dihydrotetrabenazine PET imaging in familial paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis
Bohnen, N.I.; Albin, R.L.; Frey, K.A.; Fink, J.K.
Neurology 52(5): 1067-1069
1999
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-3878 PMID: 10102431 Document Number: 511336
Clinical observations suggest a disturbance of striatal dopaminergic function in familial paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis (PDC). The authors used PET with (11C)dihydrotetrabenazine (DTBZ) to study striatal dopaminergic innervation in PDC. The results did not reveal abnormal DTBZ binding potential in PDC striatum. This suggests that dopaminergic abnormalities, if present, may be due to altered regulation of dopamine release or to postsynaptic mechanisms, rather than to an altered density of nigrostriatal innervation.