This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.
Abstract
Objective: To quantify structural changes in the substantia nigra of patients with PD with inversion recovery MRI and to compare these with striatal dopaminergic function measured with 18F-dopa PET.
Methods: The authors studied 10 patients with PD and eight age-matched control subjects with a combination of MR sequences previously reported to be sensitive to nigral cell loss. Striatal regions of interest were defined on T1-weighted MRI coregistered to 18F-dopa PET in all subjects.
Results: Discriminant function analysis of the quantified MR nigral signal correctly classified 83% of the combined PD patient/control group; three of 10 PD cases were incorrectly classified as “normal” (Wilks’ λ = 0.724, p > 0.05). Discriminant function analysis correctly classified 100% of PD patients and control subjects with 18F-dopa PET based on mean caudate and putamen Ki values (Wilks’ λ = 0.065, p < 0.001). Correlations between mean putamen Ki and rostral and caudal nigral MR signal changes and mean caudate Ki and caudal nigral MR signal changes were found (r = −0.76, −0.69, −0.80, p < 0.05).
Conclusion: 18F-dopa PET is more reliable than inversion recovery MRI in discriminating patients with moderately severe PD from normal subjects. However, the structural changes detected within the substantia nigra of patients with PD found using inversion recovery MRI correlate with measures of striatal dopaminergic function using 18F-dopa PET.
- Received July 5, 2000.
- Accepted in final form January 23, 2001.
AAN Members
We have changed the login procedure to improve access between AAN.com and the Neurology journals. If you are experiencing issues, please log out of AAN.com and clear history and cookies. (For instructions by browser, please click the instruction pages below). After clearing, choose preferred Journal and select login for AAN Members. You will be redirected to a login page where you can log in with your AAN ID number and password. When you are returned to the Journal, your name should appear at the top right of the page.
AAN Non-Member Subscribers
Purchase access
Letters: Rapid online correspondence
REQUIREMENTS
You must ensure that your Disclosures have been updated within the previous six months. Please go to our Submission Site to add or update your Disclosure information.
Your co-authors must send a completed Publishing Agreement Form to Neurology Staff (not necessary for the lead/corresponding author as the form below will suffice) before you upload your comment.
If you are responding to a comment that was written about an article you originally authored:
You (and co-authors) do not need to fill out forms or check disclosures as author forms are still valid
and apply to letter.
Submission specifications:
- Submissions must be < 200 words with < 5 references. Reference 1 must be the article on which you are commenting.
- Submissions should not have more than 5 authors. (Exception: original author replies can include all original authors of the article)
- Submit only on articles published within 6 months of issue date.
- Do not be redundant. Read any comments already posted on the article prior to submission.
- Submitted comments are subject to editing and editor review prior to posting.
You May Also be Interested in
Alert Me
Recommended articles
Dopaminergic function in patients with posttraumatic parkinsonism: An 18F-dopa PET study
Striatal dopaminergic function in restless legs syndrome
PET imaging of the dopamine transporter in progressive supranuclear palsy and Parkinson’s disease
Decreased striatal monoaminergic terminals in Huntington disease