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Patterns of local cerebral glucose utilization determined in Parkinson's disease by the [ 18 F]fluorodeoxyglucose method
Author(s) -
Kuhl David E.,
Metter E. Jeffrey,
Riege Walter H.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410150504
Subject(s) - striatum , fluorodeoxyglucose , parkinson's disease , dementia , degenerative disease , cerebral cortex , medicine , central nervous system disease , alzheimer's disease , carbohydrate metabolism , disease , endocrinology , dopamine , positron emission tomography , gastroenterology , nuclear medicine
[ 18 F]Fluorodeoxyglucose scans were performed on 9 patients with Parkinson's disease and 14 normal subjects. Five patients were restudied after an interval of 3 to 4 years. We found no selective metabolic change in striatum, where dopamine deficit is known to be greatest, in affected patients; cerebral glucose metabolism was reduced uniformly throughout the parkinsonian brain (average 18% decrease). With increased severity of bradykinesia and the development of mild to moderate dementia, global brain metabolism in Parkinson's disease decreased further. In one moderately demented patient with Parkinson's disease, severe parietal cortex hypometabolism was found, similar to that seen in Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, mildly to moderately demented patients with Huntington's disease have marked caudate hypometabolism, but cerebral glucose metabolism is normal elsewhere. It appears that in addition to the wellknown neurotransmitter loss in the nigrostriatal system, there is an abnormal metabolic process involving neurons throughout the parkinsonian brain.