Objective: This study was aimed to reveal pattern of brain degeneration related to visual hallucination (VH) throughout different stages of PD.

Background: Previous neuroimaging studies have reported neurodegenerative changes in various brain areas related to hallucination in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. However, the reported areas varied significantly.

Methods: Data from 48 PD patients (21 non-demented without VH, PNV; 10 non-demented with VH, PV; 17 demented with VH, PVD) and age-matched 30 healthy controls (HCs) were analyzed. Voxel-based morphometry and tract-based spatial statistics were conducted. Previous MR volumetric studies on VH in PD were reviewed.

Results: The PV group showed grey matter atrophy in the right inferior parietal lobule and supramarginal gyrus compared with the HC and PNV groups. The PVD group showed a wider range of grey matter atrophies in the temporo-parieto-occipital regions than those in the PV group. White matter changes seemed to be an earlier event than grey matter changes. Fractional anisotropy diffusely decreased, in order, from the PNV to PV, and PVD group in comparison to the HC. Mean diffusivity was not different between the PNV and HC groups, but increased in the parieto-temporal region in the PV group, and increased diffusely in the PVD group, additionally including the fronto-occipital regions. Review of previous studies supported our observations and also raised a hypothesis that concomitant frontal atrophy was likely to reflect disease progression in late stages of PD.

Degenerations from the parieto-temporal junction to the parieto-occipital and temporo-occipital regions are related to VH in PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/visual-hallucination-and-pattern-of-brain-degeneration-in-parkinsons-disease/