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The effects of olanzapine treatment on brain regional glucose metabolism in neuroleptic‐naive first‐episode schizophrenic patients
Author(s) -
Yoshimuta Hirofumi,
Nakamura Masayuki,
Kanda Eisuke,
Fujita Seigo,
Takeuchi Kouzou,
Fujimoto Toshiro,
Nakabeppu Yoshiaki,
Akasaki Yasuaki,
Sano Akira
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.2558
Subject(s) - olanzapine , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , psychology , medicine , psychiatry
Objective The current study examined metabolic alterations associated with a positive response to olanzapine and identified brain regions associated with treatment‐related improvement of symptoms in neuroleptic‐naive first‐episode schizophrenic patients using [ 18 F]fluoro‐deoxy‐glucose positron emission tomography analysis. Methods Neuroleptic‐naive first‐episode schizophrenic patients who showed good or poor clinical responses to olanzapine were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. Data were analyzed using statistical nonparametric mapping. Results Before treatment, responders showed significantly increased metabolism in the superior temporal gyrus and cerebellum compared with healthy controls. Glucose metabolism in responders was significantly increased after treatment in the left precentral gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, and left paracentral lobule, and significantly decreased in the left hypothalamus. An analysis of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale symptoms associated with olanzapine treatment revealed that “suspiciousness/persecution” scores were positively correlated with metabolic changes in the right superior frontal gyrus. Conclusions These findings provide evidence of the neural mechanisms underlying the effects of olanzapine on metabolism in the early stages of schizophrenia.