Objective: To investigate whether the local geometric changes in the subcortical structures of patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease correlate with dopaminergic terminal functional integrity within the striatum.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterised by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacts leading to dopamine depletion in the striatum. With better means of diagnosing and tracking the disease required to improve patient care, a number of recent studies have explored the utility of vertex-based shape analysis and local geometric changes in subcortical structures to differentiate patients with PD from healthy controls. However, the relationship between dopamine depletion and these shape changes is not known.

Method: 35 subjects with moderate-stage PD underwent high-resolution structural MR imaging under general anaesthesia to minimise movement artefact. Dopamine depletion in the presynaptic terminals was assessed using [18F]-DOPA PET. Vertex-based shaped analysis of the putamen, caudate and pallidum was performed using the FMRIB software library and correlated with [18F]-DOPA uptake.

Results: Our analysis revealed a correlation between structure and function within the basal ganglia, with regional shape changes in the putamen and pallidum positively correlated with radio-tracer uptake in the caudate. This pattern was more widely seen on the less-affected side, when compared to the more affected side, suggesting a possible floor-effect in the [18F]-DOPA measurement.

Conclusion: This works supports evidence of dopamine-dependent remodelling in subcortical structures and fosters the potential of voxel-based shape analysis as an imaging biomarker in PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/correlating-subcortical-structure-and-function-in-idiopathic-parkinsons-disease-a-cross-sectional-morphometric-and-18f-dopa-pet-study/