Regional cerebral blood flow in schizophrenia before and after neurolepticmedication

In order to investigate cerebral perfusion changes induced by neuroleptic d rugs, we performed Tc-99(m) hexamethyl propyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) single- photon emission computed tomography (SPET). Fifteen patients (nine drug nai ve, six non-naive) diagnosed by using the DSM-III-R criteria, and 10 right- handed age and sex matched normal volunteers were included in this study. T he SPET study was performed with 740 MBq Tc-99(m)-HMPAO by using a 128 x 12 8 matrix, 30 s/frame for a total 64 view over 360 degrees before and after 1 month of neuroleptic treatment. A semiquantitative method was used for th e analysis. Patients were clinically assessed using the Brief Psychiatric R ating Scale (BPRS). There was no significant regional cerebral blood flow ( rCBF) difference between the patient group and control group in whole-brain regions except in the left temporal lobe. Although clinical scores of the patients improved after neuroleptic treatment no statistically significant difference was found in the rCBF between pre- and posttreatment. Moreover, there was no statistically significant correlation between the rCBF and BPR S in any region. These results suggest that there was a discrepancy between the clinical situation and rCBF in schizophrenia and the lateralized tempo ral lobe blood flow, which may have important implications for the evaluati on of patients with schizophrenia. ((C) 2000 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins) .