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We studied the rate of progression of striatal dopamine transporter function in Parkinson's disease (PD). Eight patients with early PD without antiparkinsonian medication and 7 healthy volunteers were investigated with 18FCFT positron emission tomography (PET). The PET scan was carried out twice at an approximate 2-year interval. The uptake of 18FCFT was calculated as a region-cerebellum:cerebellum ratio at 180 to 210 minutes after injection. At the first PET scan, the 18FCFT uptake in PD patients in the putamen was 1.45 +/- 0.45 (mean +/- SD) (42% of the control mean) and 2.43 +/- 0.59 in the caudate nucleus (76% of the control mean). The ratios declined by the time of the second PET scan, and the rate of annual decline of the baseline mean in PD patients was 13.1% in the putamen and 12.5% in the caudate nucleus. In controls, the corresponding figures were 2.1% for the putamen and 2.9% for the caudate nucleus. The decline in 18FCFT uptake was significantly higher in PD patients than in controls. Thus, dopamine transporter ligands such as 18FCFT seem to be sensitive markers for the rate of progression in PD.
Nurmi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.