Reliable diagnosis of nigrostriatal degeneration by dopamine transporter SPECT despite drug interaction with venlafaxine or bupropion

Abstract: Purpose
This study examined the impact of venlafaxine and bupropion on the detection of nigrostriatal degeneration by dopamine transporter (DAT)-SPECT.

Methods
43 patients (70.7 ± 8.6y, 44% female) with [123I]FP-CIT-SPECT under venlafaxine (n = 26, 37.5-225 mg/d), bupropion (n = 16, 150 or 300 mg/d) or both (n = 1) were included retrospectively. The striatal specific [123I]FP-CIT binding ratio (SBR), its left–right asymmetry and the putamen-to-caudate ratio were transformed to z-scores and submitted to a cluster analysis for data-driven categorization.

Results
Two clusters were identified. The first cluster (37% cases) showed a Parkinson’s disease (PD)-like pattern: median striatal SBR/asymmetry/putamen-to-caudate z-score -4.5/4.9/-3.8. The second cluster (63%) showed symmetric reduction with normal intra-striatal gradient: median striatal SBR/asymmetry/putamen-to-caudate z-score -2.7/0.4/0.2. Patients with follow-up clinical reference diagnoses of neurodegenerative (n = 8) and non-neurodegenerative (n = 16) parkinsonism fell exclusively into the former or the latter cluster, respectively (p < 0.001).

Conclusion
Venlafaxine and bupropion cause uniform reduction of the striatal [123I]FP-CIT SBR that can be distinguished from PD-like reductions

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. - 52, 4 (2025) , 1549-1555, ISSN: 1619-7089

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Freiburg
• (who): Universität
• (when): 2024
• Creator: Apostolova, Ivayla ; Hellwig, Sabine ; Karimzadeh, Amir ; Klutmann, Susanne ; Meyer, Philipp T. ; Buchert, Ralph

Further information

• DOI: 10.1007/s00259-024-06989-z
• URN: urn:nbn:de:bsz:25-freidok-2611569
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 15.08.2025, 7:31 AM CEST