GABAA receptor deficits predict recovery in patients with disorders of consciousness: A preliminary multimodal [(11) C]Flumazenil PET and fMRI study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Disorders of consciousness (DoC)-that is, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome/vegetative state and minimally conscious state-are debilitating conditions for which no reliable markers of consciousness recovery have yet been identified. Evidence points to the GABAergic system being altered in DoC, making it a potential target as such a marker.

Experimental design

In our preliminary study, we used [(11) C]Flumazenil positron emission tomography to establish global GABAA receptor binding potential values and the local-to-global (LTG) ratio of these for specific regions. These values were then compared between DoC patients and healthy controls. In addition, they were correlated with behavioral improvements for the patients between the time of scanning and 3 months later.

SUBMITTER: Qin P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6869690 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature