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Molecular Imaging in Parkinson’s Disease

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Molecular Imaging in the Clinical Neurosciences

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 71))

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is manifested clinically by bradykinesia, muscular rigidity, and sometimes rest tremor. The pathological hallmark of PD is the degeneration of dopaminergic cells within the substantia nigra-pars compacta (SNc) and the subsequent dopamine depletion of the striatum. Besides disturbances in motor performance, other symptoms like REM sleep behavior disorder, autonomic dysfunction, depression, and cognitive deficits can play a role in PD.

It can be difficult to distinguish PD from other neurodegenerative brain diseases, but early diagnosis is important because prognosis and treatment options differ. Structural imaging is in general not helpful at early disease stages. However, nuclear imaging methods not only can display striatal dopaminergic activity in PD but also visualize brain perfusion and glucose metabolism to show disease-related changes in local brain function or identify cholinergic deficits associated with cognitive dysfunction. Presynaptic dopaminergic imaging either with PET or SPECT is the gold standard to differentiate between patients with parkinsonian features associated with and without a presynaptic dopaminergic deficit. In order to differentiate between PD and other neurodegenerative brain diseases, specific disease-related metabolic patterns identified with FDG-PET imaging could be of great assistance in the individual clinical diagnosis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands

    Laura K. Teune & Klaus L. Leenders

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  1. Laura K. Teune
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  2. Klaus L. Leenders
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Correspondence to Laura K. Teune .

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  1. , Dept. of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy,, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 30, Aachen, 52074, Germany

    Gerhard Gründer

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Teune, L.K., Leenders, K.L. (2012). Molecular Imaging in Parkinson’s Disease. In: Gründer, G. (eds) Molecular Imaging in the Clinical Neurosciences. Neuromethods, vol 71. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/7657_2012_51

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/7657_2012_51

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-988-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-989-1

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