Neuroimaging in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Summary:In this review, the potential role of positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography as biological markers for diagnosing and following the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD) is discussed. Their value for assessing the efficacy of putative neuroprotective agents in PD and for revealing the pharmacological changes underlying the symptomatology and complications of this disorder is also considered. It is concluded that in the future functional imaging will provide a valuable adjunct to clinical assessment when judging the efficacy of putative neuroprotective approaches to PD.

Developing an MRI-Based Biomarker for Early Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease

“…In National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored randomized double-blind studies on PD patients receiving either fetal tissue transplants or sham surgery, a 40% increase in 18 F-dopa uptake in the putamen contrasted with a modest (non-significant) 18% improvement in the mean UPDRS in one study involving 40 patients (Freed et al, 2001). In the second study involving 34 patients, a 20-30% increase of 18 F-dopa uptake was seen in the striatum, but clinical changes failed to reach statistical significance (Brooks, 2004). Most recently, a significant increase was found in 18 F-dopa uptake in the putamen of PD patients receiving trophic therapy, while clinical improvements did not differ significantly from the control group (Lang et al, 2006).…”

Influence of O-Methylated Metabolite Penetrating the Blood–Brain Barrier to Estimation of Dopamine Synthesis Capacity in Human L-[β-11C]DOPA PET

“…Because of the simple and non-invasive procedure after omission of blood sampling, Gjedde-Patlak analysis with reference input function has been widely utilized to investigate the presynaptic function of dopamine neurons, including pathophysiological and clinical studies in patients with various neurologic diseases 1,4,5,9,10,18,20,[40][41][42] and in pharmacological studies. 9,19 We believe that our study provides a further advance for the use of L-[b-…”

“…18 F]fluoro-L-DOPA ([ 18 F]FDOPA), has been applied to investigate the integrity of dopaminergic neurons in various neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease, [1][2][3][4] schizophrenia, 5,6 and epilepsy. 7 Alternatively, 11 C-labeled DOPA, L-[b À…”

Evaluation of treatment effects in Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases by MRI and MRS

“…In addition, [ 18 F]Dopa has also been used to assess transplant function and survival in small treatment trials using restorative approaches, e.g. transplantation of human or porcine fetal mesencephalic cells, for treatment of Parkinson's disease (110).…”