Higher striatal dopamine transporters in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder: A SPECT study with [^99mTc] TRODAT-1

Objectives: Dopamine has been implicated in the etiology of bipolar disorder. The aim of this study was to explore striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) availability in euthymic bipolar patients. Methods: Seventeen drug-free euthymic bipolar patients were recruited. The availability of DAT was approximated using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with [^99mTc] TRODAT-1. Results: Compared to the controls, the euthymic bipolar patients had significantly higher availability of striatal DAT. Conclusions: Even for patients in the euthymic state, the DAT availability is still higher than that of the controls.