Japanese multicenter database of healthy controls for [¹²³I]FP-CIT SPECT

Purpose: The aim of this multicenter trial was to generate a [¹²³I]FP-CIT SPECT database of healthy controls from the common SPECT systems available in Japan. Methods: This study included 510 sets of SPECT data from 256 healthy controls (116 men and 140 women; age range, 30–83 years) acquired from eight different centers. Images were reconstructed without attenuation or scatter correction (NOACNOSC), with only attenuation correction using the Chang method (ChangACNOSC) or X-ray CT (CTACNOSC), and with both scatter and attenuation correction using the Chang method (ChangACSC) or X-ray CT (CTACSC). These SPECT images were analyzed using the Southampton method. The outcome measure was the specific binding ratio (SBR) in the striatum. These striatal SBRs were calibrated from prior experiments using a striatal phantom. Results: The original SBRs gradually decreased in the order of ChangACSC, CTACSC, ChangACNOSC, CTACNOSC, and NOACNOSC. The SBRs for NOACNOSC were 46% lower than those for ChangACSC. In contrast, the calibrated SBRs were almost equal under no scatter correction (NOSC) conditions. A significant effect of age was found, with an SBR decline rate of 6.3% per decade. In the 30–39 age group, SBRs were 12.2% higher in women than in men, but this increase declined with age and was absent in the 70–79 age group. Conclusions: This study provided a large-scale quantitative database of [¹²³I]FP-CIT SPECT scans from different scanners in healthy controls across a wide age range and with balanced sex representation. The phantom calibration effectively harmonizes SPECT data from different SPECT systems under NOSC conditions. The data collected in this study may serve as a reference database

Factors Regarding Suicide Decline in Japan: A Longitudinal Study on Psychiatric Diagnosis of Serious Suicide Attempters

journal articl

Feasibility and acceptability of cognitive behavioural therapy in older Japanese people with cognitive decline: a single-arm intervention

Studies have shown that cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for older people with cognitive decline and depression/anxiety improves negative moods. However, CBT research focusing on this population in Japan is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a cognitive behavioural program for people with cognitive decline. Sixteen Japanese patients with mild dementia (n = 3) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI, n = 13) participated in the study. A single-arm, pre–post study was implemented in two hospitals in Japan. The CBT program included eight bi-weekly sessions. The feasibility outcomes (satisfaction, understanding and usefulness) were measured immediately after completing the sessions, and depression, anxiety, quality of life (QOL), neuropsychiatric symptoms, and caregiver burden were measured at three time points (i.e. before, immediately after, and 3-month follow-up). Ten MCI participants attended all sessions and the mean patient satisfaction scores using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire were 31.0±10.05 out of 32. Linear mixed model analyses demonstrated that the time effect was significant for depression (d = 1.62), anxiety (d = 1.39), and QOL (d = 1.00) for the patients, and significant for anxiety (d = 1.08) for their caregivers. The study found that this CBT program is feasible and acceptable for older Japanese people with cognitive decline. The program also improved patients’ QOL, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and decreased caregivers’ anxiety. Key learning aims (1) Recently, studies have shown that CBT for older people living with dementia has been effective in treating their depression and anxiety. However, evidence for the efficacy of CBT and other curative or care options for people living with dementia is limited in Japan. (2) We studied a short-period CBT program and found that it was likely to be feasible and acceptable for use among older Japanese people with mild cognitive impairment, that it may improve negative mood among this group, and that it may lessen the care burden for caregivers. (3) Furthermore, we found that caregiver involvement in the implementation of CBT for older people may be effective in improving the mood of family members

Amyloid associated depression: Amyloid imaging with [18F]florbetapir in geriatric depression

第36回日本神経科学大会（Neuro2013

Amyloid imaging with [(18) F]florbetapir in geriatric depression: early-onset versus late-onset.

We examined patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) with a history of geriatric depression (GD) and healthy controls (HC) to evaluate the effect of beta-amyloid (Aβ) pathology on the pathology of GD by using [(18) F]florbetapir PET

Peripheral benzodiazepine receptors in patients with chronic schizophrenia: A PET study with [11C]DAA1106

Inflammatory/immunological process and glial contribution are suggested in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. We investigated peripheral benzodiazepine receptors in brains of patients with chronic schizophrenia, which were reported to be located on mitochondria of glial cells, using [11C]DAA1106 with positron emission tomography. Fourteen patients and 14 age- and sex-matched normal controls participated in this study. PET data were analysed by two-tissue compartment model with metabolite-corrected plasma input. Clinical symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. There was no significant difference between [11C]DAA1106 binding of the cortical regions of normal controls and patients with schizophrenia, whereas the patients showed a positive correlation between cortical [11C]DAA1106 binding and positive symptom scores. There was also a positive correlation between [11C]DAA1106 binding and duration of illness. Although the correlations need to be interpreted very cautiously, involvement of glial reaction process in the pathophysiology of positive symptoms or progressive change of schizophrenia might be suggested

Effects of menopause on brain structural changes in schizophrenia.

AIM:The aim of this study was to investigate the influences of menopause on brain morphological changes in schizophrenia using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).METHODS:Forty female schizophrenia patients, 20 premenopausal and 20 postmenopausal, and 50 female controls underwent cerebral MRI. Optimized voxel-based morphometry was performed with Statistical Parametric Mapping version 5.RESULTS:Compared with controls, regional gray matter reductions in schizophrenia patients were observed in the insula, superior temporal gyrus, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus, and thalamus. Direct comparison between the patient groups showed that the gray matter of postmenopausal patients was significantly smaller when compared with premenopausal patients in the left middle frontal gyrus, and no region had significantly lower gray matter volume in premenopausal patients relative to postmenopausal patients. Significant negative correlation between gray matter volume and the interval after menopause was found in the right superior frontal gyrus in the postmenopause patient group.CONCLUSION:Differential morphological alterations between postmenopausal and premenopausal schizophrenia patients were observed, suggesting that the female hormone plays a protective role against schizophrenia