Single photon-emission computed tomography imaging in early Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Current diagnostic criteria for Parkinson’s disease (PD) rely on the presence of motor signs, but it is now evident that they require months or years to become clinically manifest. By contrast, initial manifestations of PD may involve several nonmotor domains, such as cognition, mood, smell or sleep, and their recognition is critical if one is aiming for early diagnosis to provide neuroprotection. In this context, imaging tracers are gaining relevance as they are increasingly recognized as biological markers of disease progression. In this review, we will discuss the role of single photon-emission computed tomography imaging in the early phases of PD and in the differential diagnosis of essential tremor and atypical parkinsonism. We will also discuss the role of imaging of monoaminergic nondopamine systems to assess nonmotor features.

Keywords::

• dopamine transporter
• essential tremor
• Parkinson’s disease
• perfusion tracer
• SPECT

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.