Relationship between neuromelanin and dopamine terminals within the Parkinson’s nigrostriatal system

• Published in: Brain (London, England : 1878) Vol. 142; no. 7; pp. 2023 - 2036
• Main Authors: Martín-Bastida, Antonio, Lao-Kaim, Nicholas P, Roussakis, Andreas Antonios, Searle, Graham E, Xing, Yue, Gunn, Roger N, Schwarz, Stefan T, Barker, Roger A, Auer, Dorothee P, Piccini, Paola
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.07.2019
• Subjects: Case-Control Studies; Corpus Striatum - anatomy & histology; Corpus Striatum - metabolism; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dopamine - metabolism; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Melanins - metabolism; Middle Aged; Nerve Endings - metabolism; Neuroimaging; Nortropanes - metabolism; Original; Positron-Emission Tomography; Substantia Nigra - anatomy & histology; Substantia Nigra - metabolism; magnetic resonance imaging; dopamine transporter; positron emission tomography; Parkinson’s disease; neuromelanin

Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the progressive loss of pigmented dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and associated striatal deafferentation. Neuromelanin content is thought to reflect the loss of pigmented neurons, but available data characterizing its relationship with striatal d...