The evaluation of regional brain metabolism (18FDG PET) in differential diagnostic discrimination of obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. Case study
Abstract
The patient LH (38 years) was investigated diagnostically using 18FDG PET. The clinical course and symptomatology did not discriminate between obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and residual schizophrenia with predominant formal thought disturbances.
The comparison of regional brain metabolism (18FDG uptake) in patient LH and the control group of 10 males was performed using Statistical Parametric Mapping 99 (SPM99). In the patient LH we found higher 18FDG uptake bilaterally in the superior temporal gyrus (BA 38), parahippocampal gyrus (BA 35), postcentral gyrus (BA 2) and insula (BA 13).
On the right side we also found higher 18FDG uptake in the anterior cingulate (BA 32) and cuneus (BA 18). On the left side the metabolism was also higher in the putamen, precuneus, cuneus (BA 19), inferior frontal gyrus (BA 47), uncus (BA 28) and inferior parietal lobulus (BA 40).
The higher metabolism in these identified regions is in agreement with the metabolic changes typical for schizophrenia