Perspective: Solving the Heterogeneity Conundrum of TSPO PET Imaging in Psychosis.

ABSTRACT: Positron emission tomography using ligands targeting translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO PET) is an innovative method to visualize and quantify glial inflammatory responses in the central nervous system in vivo. Compared to some other neuropsychiatric disorders, findings of TSPO PET in schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders have been considerably more heterogeneous. Two conflicting meta-analyses have been published on the topic within the last year: one asserting evidence for decreased TSPO uptake, while the other observed increased TSPO uptake in a selection of studies. In this paper, we review and discuss five hypotheses which may explain the observed variability of TSPO PET findings in psychotic illness, namely that (1) an inflammatory phenotype is only present in a subgroup of psy

SUBMITTER: De Picker L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7206714 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature