Objective:To explore the characteristics of brain structure in patients with long-term withdrawal of methamphetamine-dependence.Methods:A total of 44 patients with withdrawal of methamphetamine-dependent for more than 14 months were recruited,who met the diagnostic criteria for substance dependence in the fifth edition of the American Mental Disorders Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-Ⅴ),and 40 healthy subjects were used as the control.In addition to the general scale of drug-relevant survey,the subjects received the 3.0T magnetic resonance high-resolution scan.The voxel-based morphometric measurements for the subject's brain gray volume were conducted.Results:There was no significant difference in age,education,smoking and alcohol consumption between the methamphetamine-dependent withdrawal group and the control group (P＞0.05).The volumes for the bilateral cerebellum,the left side of temporal gyrus and the right side of the lingual gyrus in the methamphetamine-dependent withdrawal group were increased than those in the control group.The volumes for the bilateral lingual gyrus and bilateral cuneus in the methamphetamine-dependent withdrawal group were decreased than those in the control group.The volumes of left of cuneus and cerebellum were positively correlated with the duration of abstinence.Conclusion:After long-term abstinence,although the patients still show abnormal brain structure,their behavior and cognitive function is improved.The cerebral nerve structural is recovered from long-term abstinence.

Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) is a magnetic resonance technology with a high resolution, three-dimensional gradient echo and fully velocity compensated sequence. It is also sensitive to substance with different magnetisability. Based on the quantitative reconstruction of SWI, quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has been used in monitoring the change of intravenous iron, calcium, microbleeds and oxygen content. This article summarizes principle of QSM and the latest progress of QSM application in the diseases of central nervous system.
Calcium ; chemistry ; Central Nervous System ; Humans ; Iron ; chemistry ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Oxygen ; chemistry

To explore the mechanism for changes in brain microstructure in long-term abstinent from methamphetamine-dependence by using the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
 Methods: A total of 26 patients with long-term abstinent methamphetamine-dependence, whose abstinence time more than 14 months, and 26 normal controls all underwent cognitive executive function tests and DTI scans. We used voxel-based analysis to compare the fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) to obtain the abnormal brain regions of DTI parameters between the two groups. Spearman correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between FA, MD of the brain regions with abnormal parameters and cognitive executive function tests.
 Results: There were no statistical differences in the cognitive executive function tests between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the normal control group, the long-term abstinent from methamphetamine-dependence group showed the decreased FA in the right precuneus, right superior frontal gyrus, right calcarine, left inferior temporal gyrus and the increased MD in the right triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus, right precuneus, right posterior cingulate, right middle temporal gyrus, bilateral middle occipital gyrus, left superior parietal lobule, and lobule VIII of cerebellar hemisphere. The MD values of the right middle temporal gyrus in the long-term abstinent group were negatively correlated with the number of completions within 60 seconds (r=-0.504) and within 120 seconds (r=-0.464) .
 Conclusion: The DTI parameters in multiple brain regions from the methamphetamine-dependence patients are still abnormal after a long-term abstinence. DTI can provide imaging evidence for brain microstructural abnormalities in long-term abstinent from methamphetamine-dependence.
Amphetamine-Related Disorders ; Anisotropy ; Brain ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Humans ; Methamphetamine