This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Doudet, D. J. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Radionuclide Imaging in Parkinson’s Disease: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Disease Progression

Department of Medicine, Neurodegenerative Disorders Center, University of British Columbia, Room M36, Purdy Pavilion, 2221 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2B5, Canada, ddoudet{at}interchange.ubc.ca

This paper reviews the abilities of positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) to detect Parkinson’s disease, monitor its progression and the effect of therapy. It also provides insights on the role these two modalities provide in terms of discriminating atypical syndromes from Parkinson’s disease. Both PET and SPECT are sensitive means of detecting alterations in metabolism and blood flow in the brain and impairments in neurotransmitter function, especially dopaminergic, in the striatum and, more recently, in extrastriatal structures. To date, PET presents the added advantage of quantification, better sensitivity and resolution and a greater variety of tracers for both the dopaminergic and nondopaminergic systems.

Key Words: Parkinson’s disease • PET • SPECT • dopamine system • disease progression

Journal of Pharmacy Practice, Vol. 14, No. 4, 341-350 (2001)
DOI: 10.1106/76VR-VNP7-T1EW-6HGY


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?