Measuring the rate of progression of Parkinson's disease over a 5-year period with β-CIT SPECT

• Published in: Movement disorders Vol. 18; no. 11; pp. 1266 - 1272
• Main Authors: Pirker, Walter, Holler, Iris, Gerschlager, Willibald, Asenbaum, Susanne, Zettinig, Georg, Brücke, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., A Wiley Company 01.11.2003; Wiley
• Subjects: [123I]β-CIT; Binding Sites; Biological and medical sciences; Cocaine - analogs & derivatives; Cocaine - pharmacokinetics; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Corpus Striatum - metabolism; Corpus Striatum - physiopathology; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Disease Progression; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Membrane Glycoproteins; Membrane Transport Proteins - metabolism; Middle Aged; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Neurology; Neuropsychological Tests; Parkinson Disease - diagnosis; Parkinson Disease - metabolism; Parkinson Disease - physiopathology; Parkinson's disease; Radiopharmaceuticals - pharmacokinetics; Radiopharmaceuticals - therapeutic use; Severity of Illness Index; single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT); Time Factors; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; Radionuclide study; Human; Nervous system diseases; Emission; Parkinson disease; Photon; Cerebral disorder; Dopaminergic transmission; Central nervous system disease; Evolution; Degenerative disease; Extrapyramidal syndrome; Emission tomography
• ISSN: 0885-3185; 1531-8257
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.10531

Recent imaging studies suggest a rapid degeneration of the dopaminergic system in early Parkinson's disease (PD), followed by a slowing of the degenerative process in advanced disease. In the present study, a group of early‐stage PD patients underwent three sequential [123I]β‐CIT SPECT studies to assess the decline of striatal dopamine transporter binding over a 5‐year period. Twenty‐one of a cohort of 24 early PD patients who participated in an earlier longitudinal β‐CIT SPECT imaging study [Mov Disord 2002;17:45–53] were included. Scan intervals were 26 ± 11 months (scan 1–2) and 38 ± 15 months (scan 2–3), respectively. The relative annual rate of decline of striatal β‐CIT binding from age‐expected normal values at the time of Scan 1 was used as primary outcome variable. The relative annual decline of striatal binding from Scan 1 to Scan 2 (4.5 ± 4.6%) and from Scan 2 to Scan 3 (3.0 ± 3.0%) was not significantly different. The non‐significant difference in progression rate was due mainly to the rapid early decline of striatal binding in 1 patient who subsequently developed a severe dysexecutive dementia syndrome. These data are not suggestive of substantial change in the course of dopaminergic degeneration in PD within the first 5 to 7 years after symptom onset. © 2003 Movement Disorder Society