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Changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment after memantine therapy: a preliminary study

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Abstract

Objective

To investigate the changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment after memantine therapy.

Methods

We performed serial F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography studies before and after memantine therapy (20 mg per day) on 17 patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment using statistical parametric mapping analysis. In addition, covariance analysis was performed to identify regions, where changes in regional cerebral glucose metabolism correlated significantly with increased Mini-Mental Status Examination scores.

Results

Statistical parametric mapping analysis demonstrated that, compared with baseline, significantly increased cerebral glucose metabolism occurred in both inferior, middle and superior frontal gyri, both angular gyri, both precuneus, the right middle cingulum, the left inferior parietal lobule, the left fusiform gyrus, the left precentral gyrus, the left paracentral lobule, and the left lingual gyrus after memantine therapy (P uncorrected < 0.005). In contrast, cerebral glucose metabolism was significantly decreased in both cerebellum, the left thalamus, the left olfactory, the right middle temporal gyrus, the right amygdala, and the right insula (P uncorrected < 0.005). In the correlation analysis, improvements in Mini-Mental Status Examination scores after memantine therapy were significantly associated with increased cerebral glucose metabolism in the inferior and middle frontal gyri and the inferior parietal lobule of the left hemisphere (P corrected < 0.0001).

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that the prefrontal and the parietal association cortices may be the relevant structures for the pharmacological response to memantine therapy in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department and Research Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 250 Seongsanno, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, Republic of Korea

    Yong Wook Kim & Ji-Cheol Shin

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Republic of Korea

    Young-sil An

Authors
  1. Yong Wook Kim
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  2. Ji-Cheol Shin
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  3. Young-sil An
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Correspondence to Yong Wook Kim.

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Kim, Y.W., Shin, JC. & An, Ys. Changes in cerebral glucose metabolism in patients with posttraumatic cognitive impairment after memantine therapy: a preliminary study. Ann Nucl Med 24, 363–369 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-010-0360-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12149-010-0360-3

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