mcn-5652 and Fatigue-Syndrome--Chronic

To assess the involvement of serotonin in the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, we investigated the serotonergic neurotransmitter system of chronic fatigue syndrome patients by the positron emission tomography (PET). Here we show that the density of serotonin transporters (5-HTTs) in the brain, as determined by using a radiotracer, [C](+)McN5652, was significantly reduced in the rostral subdivision of the anterior cingulate as compared with that in normal volunteers. This subdivision is different from that in the dorsal anterior cingulate in which binding potential values of individual patient showed a weak negative correlation with self-reported pain score of the patients. Therefore, an alteration of serotonergic system in the rostral anterior cingulate plays a key role in pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome.

Topics: Adult; Brain Mapping; Carbon Isotopes; Case-Control Studies; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic; Female; Gyrus Cinguli; Humans; Isoquinolines; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Membrane Glycoproteins; Membrane Transport Proteins; Middle Aged; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Pain Measurement; Positron-Emission Tomography; Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins