Positron emission tomography tags brain disorder

17 Jun 2002

Medical imaging techniques have enabled researchers at Johns Hopkins University to uncover the suspected fingerprint of Lesch-Nyhan, a devastating disorder that afflicts patients with uncontrollable urges to hurt themselves. Hopkins scientists showed that brains of patients with the disorder, may have much fewer nerve endings containing dopamine, an important chemical messenger. The finding is an important step in developing future treatments, the researchers say.

Hopkins investigators, working in conjunction with researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and the Montreal Neurological Institute, used positron emission tomography or PET to study brain levels of a dopamine transporter in normal adults and Lesch-Nyhan patients. The transporter recycles dopamine, removing it from its area of activity and preparing it for reuse. The Lesch-Nyhan patients had, on average, 75 percent less of the dopamine transporters in an area of the brain involved in controlling movement. This suggests they also have less dopamine in this area of the brain.