Sammanfattning
Thirteen drug-naive outpatients with major depression and seven healthy controls were investigated using single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) with 123I-labeled iomazenil. Depression was diagnosed in accordance with the criteria of the DSM-III-R, and the severity of depression was evaluated using the 21-item Hamilton depression rating scale. Patients had significantly lower benzodiazepine receptor density in the both cerebral hemispheres and, especially, in the left temporal cortex than did the controls. Significant negative correlations were observed between psychic anxiety in patients and the benzodiazepine receptor density in the left (r 0.73) and right (r 0.74) temporal cortex. The results suggest that benzodiazepine receptor density is associated with anxiety symptoms among depressed patients.