Marieke L. Schouw1, Sanna Gevers1,
Charles B.L.M. Majoie2, Jan Booij3, Aart J. Nederveen,
Liesbeth Reneman
1Radiology, AMC, Amsterdam,
Noord-Holland, Netherlands; 2Radiology, AMC, Amsterdam,
Netherlands; 3Nuclear Medecine, AMC, Amsterdam
We
investigate whether pharmacologic magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) is
suitable in detecting serotonin terminal loss in users of XTC (MDMA,
ecstasy). 10 XTC users and 7 controls underwent ASL (arterial spin labelling)
based phMR imaging with a challenge with the selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitor (SSRI) citalopram. Data were combined with single photon emission
computed tomography (SPECT) imaging with [123I]-CIT. Markedly different
citalopram-induced CBF changes were observed in XTC users compared to
controls, in brain regions that also showed (a tendency) towards reduced SERT
densities. These preliminary results suggest that ASL-based CBF measurements
may be indirect measures of serotonin terminal loss.