Abstract:
To study the cerebral pathological damage target which result from abusing ketamine through molecular imaging techniques, 20 cases of ketamine dependent patients looking for treatment at the Peking University Shenzhen Hospital and 31 healthy volunteers were included in this study, all of them got brain SPECT DAT imaging. The results were analyzed by SPSS 16.0. The bilateral caudate nucleus and putamen of healthy volunteers were roughly equally large, and the radioactive distribution of DAT in healthy volunteers were uniform and symmetrical. The bilateral corpora striatum showed typical “panda eyes” pattern. But the bilateral corpora striatum of ketamine dependent patients got smaller in shape, got disorders in pattern, and the radioactive distribution of DAT reduced or defected or even got disturbance and with much more non-specific radioactive. The V, m and Ra of bilateral corpora striatum in ketamine dependent patients were (21.03±3.15) cm
3, (22.08±3.31) g and (5.37±1.08) %, respectively, which were significantly lower than the healthy volunteers (
p<0.01). The cerebral pathological damage target which resulted from abusing ketamine was similar to those of compound codeine phosphate antitussive solution dependence, heroin dependence and MDMA dependence, all of these psychoactive substances damaged the function of DAT.