BRAIN IMAGING, ANTIDEPRESSANTS, AND ETHNICITY - PRELIMINARY-OBSERVATIONS

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and single photon emission computed t omography (SPECT) using Tc-99m-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (HMPAO) evaluations were completed on African-American and Caucasian depresse d patients prior to their participation in an antidepressant medicatio n trial. The degree of white matter hyperintensities (WMH), ventricle- to-brain ratio (VBR), and uptake of HMPAO did not vary significantly b etween the groups. After 1 week of placebo run-in, patients received p aroxetine in an 8-week, open-label, flexible-dose trial. Final dosages and side effects were similar between groups. There was a trend for t he Caucasian patients to have a better treatment response, but the rel atively small sample size makes this finding tentative. In general, th ere were no major differences in either baseline neuroimaging findings or response to paroxetine between these two ethnic groups.