Dopamine changes in depression following traumatic brain injury
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Major depression after traumatic brain injury: an investigation of D2/D3 receptors and dopamine transporter using PET.
IRAS ID
131446
Contact name
David Sharp
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Major depression is particularly common and disabling after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Across all types of TBI around a third of patients develop major depression, with a higher proportion of depression seen in those with more severe injuries. Depression limits the recovery of patients, and is a significant cause of long-term morbidity. Neuroimaging work investigating the neural basis of depression after TBI is surprisingly limited given the economic impact of the condition.
It is likely that abnormalities of the chemical dopamine produced by TBI contributes to the development of depressive symptoms, although this has seldom been directly investigated. We will measure dopamine D2/D3 receptor levels in the living human brain with Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging. PET scans work by using a radioligand (in this case, [11C]PHNO) which is a compound labelled with a radioactive tag. After injection into a person, radioligands specifically attach themselves to specific receptor proteins and give off a signal which is detected by the PET camera. To map exactly where the [11C]PHNO signal comes from in the brain, acquisition of a structural image with a magnetic resonance (MRI) scanner is also required.
The proposed work will provide the first study of the effect of TBI on dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding, and their relationship to neuropsychiatric symptoms. The work will potentially allow patients at risk of developing major depression to be identified early, which would allow targeted intensive treatment to improve clinical outcome. The study will also test whether structural damage to neural projections can be used as a surrogate marker of dopamine receptor binding potential. This MR imaging measure could be widely used across the NHS to screen patients at risk of major depression following TBI.
REC name
London - Westminster Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1998
Date of REC Opinion
8 Jan 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion