Central Pain after Pontine Infarction Is Associated with Changes in Opioid Receptor Binding: A PET Study with ¹¹C-Diprenorphine

Abstract

Summary: Using ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose and ¹¹C-diprenorphine positron emission tomography (PET), we investigated alterations in glucose metabolism and opioid receptor binding in a patient with central poststroke pain, which developed after a small pontine hemorrhagic infarction. In comparison with normal databases, reduced ¹¹C-diprenorphine binding was more accentuated than the hypometabolism on the lateral cortical surface contralateral to the symptoms, and a differential abnormal distribution between the tracers was seen in pain-related central structures. These results show that ¹¹C-diprenorphine PET provides unique information for the understanding of central poststroke pain.