BACKGROUND:It is suggested that glucose metabolism of frontal lobes,cingulate gyri and caudate nuclei in cerebral functional area of patients with depression is low,and the blood flow in cerebellum decreases.OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of scalp acupuncture on cerebral glucose metabolism in depression by positron emission tomography.DESIGN:Randomly controlled and verifying experiment.SETTING:Department of Acupuncture and Aoxibustion in Nanfang Hospital and Center of Positron Emission Tomography in a Guangdong People's hospital.PARTICIPANTS:Twelve patients of primary depression,from Nanfang Hospital,Zhujiang Hospital and Center of Positron Emission Tomography in Guangdong People's Hospital from October 2002 to October 2003,were selected randomly with the diagnostic criteria of [F32] in the Third Edition of the Chinese Classification and Diagnostic Criteria of Mental Disease.Among them,3 were male and 9 were female.Their ages were from 36 to 66 years,with the average of 48.METHODS:Giving scalp acupuncture in middle line of vertex(MS5),middle line of forehead(MS1) and bilateral lateral line 1 of forehead(MS2).All the patients received positron emission tomography examination before and after acupuncture treatment for 6 weeks.Then cerebral Regions of Interest,bilateral frontal lobes,bilateral caudate nuclei,bilateral cingulate gyri and bilateral cerebella,were chosen and their average glucose metabolisms were counted by half-quantifying analysis.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:Glucose metabolism of bilateral frontal lobes,bilateral caudate nuclei,bilateral cingulate gyri and bilateral cerebella.RESULTS:According to intension,all 12 patients with primary depression sults of right frontal lobes(2.91 ±0.34),left frontal lobes(2.96±0.26),right cingulate gyri(2.68±0.20),right caudate nuclei (2.61±0.39) and left cerebellum(2.55±0.18)were obviously higher than those of right frontal lobes(2.53±0.31),left frontal lobes(2.53±0.36),right cingulate gyri(2.34±0.31),right caudate nuclei(2.40±0.33) and left cerebellum(2.35±0.25)before treatment(P＜ 0.05-0.01).However, the results of left cingulate gyri (2.69 ±0.38),left caudate nuclei(2.66±0.01) and right cerebellum(2.50±0.27) were similar to those of left cingulate gyri(2.43±0.38),left caudate nuclei(2.45±0.21) and right cerebellum(2.30±0.34) before treatment(P ＞ 0.05).CONCLUSION:Scalp acupuncture on middle line of vertex,middle line of forehead and bilateral lateral line 1 of forehead could improve the glucose metabolism in depressive patients of certain cerebral regions,and it might be a mechanism related to improvement of frontal lobes,caudate nuclei,cingulate gyri and cerebellum.

Dynamic ~(13)N-NH_3 positron emission tomography (PET) imaging was performed in 8 normal subjects and 6 cases of hypopituitarism. The pituitary images were small and delayed, and blood perfusion and radioactive uptake were decreased in hypopituitarism. ~(13)N-NH_3 PET imaging shows diagnostic value in hypopituitarism.