Category: Parkinson's Disease: Neuroimaging
Objective: To investigate the association between cerebrospinal (CSF) αS aggregates, MRI, and dopamine transporter spectral tomography (DaTscanTM) imaging metrics.
Background: Synuclein amplification assays (SAA) enables the verification of alpha-synuclein (αS) aggregates; a widely considered a pathological hallmark of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Yet, αS aggregation is only detected in ~50% of LRRK2-PD patients.
Method: Forty-two PD patients (14 iPD, 14 GBA-PD, and 14 LRRK2-PD; mean age ±SD = 63.16 ± 9.5 yrs; F/M: 13/29) were included in the final analysis of this study. All participants underwent comprehensive neurological and cognitive assessments, lumbar puncture for CSF collection, DAT-SPECT and MRI scans including diffusion tensor (DT), and resting-state fMRI datasets. Quantitative measures including deep grey matter volumes, diffusion-tensor (DT) indices along white matter (WM) fibers, functional connectivity (FC), and striatal binding ratio (SBR) values were calculated.
Results: Nine (all LRRK2-PD) out of 42 patients were found negative for αS based on SAA (SAA-). No significant differences in demographic variables were detected between SAA+ and SAA- groups. SAA+ PD patients demonstrated significantly reduced FC in the right and left caudate (p=0.002, Bonferroni-corrected). In DTI, SAA– showed significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) along the left external capsule (p<0.001, Bonferroni-corrected), and higher FA along the left fronto-occipital fasciculus (SFOF) (p<0.001, Bonferroni-corrected) compared to the SAA+ group.
Conclusion: In PD, αS aggregation is linked to reduced FC in the caudate nucleus, as well as patterns of WM integrity alterations; reflecting the ongoing degenerative pattern that is not observed in a subgroup of SAA- individuals.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
A. Droby, A. Yoffe-Vasiliev, K. Fraser, O. Mabrouk, B. Cohen, N. Omer, A. Bar Shira, M. Gana-Weisz, O. Goldstein, R. Alcalay, A. Orr-Urtreger, J. Shirvan, J. Cedarbaum, N. Giladi, A. Mirelman, A. Thaler. Radiological markers of CSF α-synuclein aggregation in Parkinson’s disease patients [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2023; 38 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/radiological-markers-of-csf-%ce%b1-synuclein-aggregation-in-parkinsons-disease-patients/. Accessed September 7, 2024.« Back to 2023 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/radiological-markers-of-csf-%ce%b1-synuclein-aggregation-in-parkinsons-disease-patients/