Posted by SLS on December 16, 2010, at 5:15:06
In reply to Can PET scan confirm Depression Diangosis?, posted by jhj on December 16, 2010, at 2:28:37
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> Hi
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> Can PET scan be used to confirm diagnosis of MDD? Some of my close relatives have doubts about my illness. They want evidence of the same.
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> Thanks in Advance.
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> Regards,
> JatinHi Jatin.
Yes. PET scans can render images of abnormal brain activity consistent with mood disorders. However, it is very expensive, and I don't know the reliability with which it catches positives (sensitivity) and rejects negatives (selectivity). fMRI or SPECT imaging is being used by some doctors, of which Daniel G. Amen, MD is most notable for with his clinical centers. However, there are people who debate its usefulness. I really haven't looked into it.
PET scans are probably more accurate and potentially have a greater scope of assays that it is capable of producing compared to other forms of imaging. There is such a thing a composite of PET and MRI which can better render structure. My brain looked like an ice rink with a PET scan - all blue and shockingly inactive.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.
poster:SLS
thread:973366
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101203/msgs/973698.html