Abnormal Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Patients with Narcolepsy

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 22(4); 2004 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 2004;22(4): 340-344.

기면증 환자의 뇌 포도당대사 이상

주은연, 태우석 김지현 한선정 조용원 김 린 윤창호 김명희 김병태 홍승봉

성균관대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실, 핵의학과학교실*, 계명대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실†, 고려대학교 의과대학 정신과학교실‡, 인하대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실§, 이화여자대학교 컴퓨터학과∥

Abnormal Cerebral Glucose Metabolism in Patients with Narcolepsy

Eun Yeon Joo

Departments of Neurology and Nuclear Medicine*, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul; Department of Neurology, Keimyung University College of Medicine†, Daegu; Department of Psychiatry, Korea University College of Medicine‡, Seoul; Department of Neurology, Inha University College of Medicine§, Incheon; Department of Computer Science, Ewha Womans University∥, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences of cerebral glucose metabolism between narcoleptic patients and normal controls.
Methods: We enrolled 24 patients with narcolepsy who underwent night polysomnography and multiple sleep latency tests to confirm the narcolepsy. 18F-fluorodeoxy glucose positron emission tomography scan was performed in all narcoleptic patients and 24 normal age-sex matched controls. To compare the cerebral glucose metabolism between the two groups, statistical parametric mapping (SPM99) was used.
Results: Patients with narcolepsy showed significant decreases of cerebral glucose metabolism in the bilateral rectal and subcallosal gyri, right superior frontal gyrus, right medial frontal gyrus, bilateral precuneus, right inferior parietal lobule, and left supramarginal gyrus of the parietal lobe at the uncorrected P<0.001. The bilateral posterior hypothalami and mediodorsal thalamic nuclei showed glucose hypometabolism at the level of corrected P<0.05 with small volume correction.
Conclusions: This study showed cerebral glucose hypometabolism of hypothalamus-thalamus-orbitofrontal pathways in narcoleptic brains. The distribution of abnormal glucose metabolism is concordant to the cerebral pathways of the hypocretin system. Key Words: Narcolepsy, Metabolism, 18F-FDG-PET scan, Hypothalamus, Thalamus