Evidence suggests that patients with ADHD do not have enough of the neurotransmitter dopamine. A recent study by Carmen Thomas and colleagues from the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute tested the effectiveness of I-123 Altropane® SPECT imaging in examining dopamine transporter levels and thus detecting ADHD. The results of the study were presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s 50th Annual Meeting.
The study involved 9 men and 4 women between the ages of 18 and 29. Of these patients, 5 were classified as normal by standard tests and interviews, while the other 8 were diagnosed with drug-naïve ADHD. The patients were injected with the radiopharmaceutical I-123 Altropane®, which binds to dopamine transporters in the basal ganglia section of the brain, and SPECT scans were performed.
The results revealed that the binding ratio of I-123 Altropane® to dopamine transporters was higher in ADHD patients than in normal patients. This evidence supports dopamine deficiency in ADHD patients. As the study’s authors indicated, “We are quite encouraged by the results and the excellent potential of I-123 Altropane® SPECT to serve as an effective supplement to traditional ADHD diagnostic methods.”