Objective: To investigate sex differences in nigrostriatal and extrastriatal ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT monoaminergic projections in healthy subjects and Parkinson’s disease (PD)

Background: preclinical and clinical studies suggest sex as important modulator of Parkinson’s disease presentation and progression. No studies largely evaluate sexual dimorphism in monoaminergic pathways in healthy subjects and Parkinson’s disease.

Method: Established PD patients and ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT imaging entered the study. Differences in ¹²³I-FP-CIT binding between male and female healthy subjects and PD patients were separately evaluated by using whole brain SPM analyses adjusting for the effect of age, UPDRS-III and disease duration.

Results: One-hundred forty-nine PD patients and 77 controls entered the study and underwent ¹²³I-FP-CIT SPECT imaging. SPM analysis revealed higher binding in female in basal ganglia (p=0.001) and thalamus (p=0.001) in controls and PD patients. Conversely, male subjects (patients as well as controls) showed higher binding in frontal lobes and brainstem (p=0.001) compared to females.

Conclusion: Healthy subjects and PD patients have similar sexual dimorphisms in monoaminergic pathways, suggesting that the impact of sex on incidence and progression of PD is driven by constitutional dimorphism rather than disease-specific alterations in dopaminergic and serotonergic systems.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/sexual-divergencies-in-monoaminergic-projections-in-parkinsons-disease-a-123i-fp-cit-spect-study/