Correlation between Psychopathology and Dopamine Transporter Density in Striatum before and after Taking Olanzapine Assessed with IPT-SPECT in First Episode Schizophrenia

Using [123I] IPT-SPECT, we compared the dopamine transporter (DAT) density of the basal ganglia between first-episode patients with schizophrenia and normal control subjects. We investigated the change in the DAT density before and after taking olanzapine for 4 weeks in patients with schizophrenia. We studied the correlations between the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia and the DAT density. Ten patients with schizophrenia and ten healthy control subjects were included in this study. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) were administered before and after the 4-week treatment with olanzapine in the schizophrenic group. Nuclear imaging using [123I] IPT-SPECT was performed in the normal control subjects and in the schizophrenic group before taking olanzapine. After the 4-week treatment with olanzapine, nuclear imaging was performed in the schizophrenic group. There was a significant negative correlation between the BPRS total score and withdrawal subscale score after treatment and the DAT density before treatment. There was a significant positive correlation between the age of onset and the DAT density after treatment and there was a significant negative correlation between the duration of illness and the DAT density after treatment. The data of this study suggest that the DAT density in the basal ganglia in patients with schizophrenia can be used as a predicting factor for treatment response.