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Longitudinal study of the substantia nigra in Parkinson disease: A high‐field 1 H‐MR spectroscopy imaging study
Author(s) -
SerajiBozorgzad Navid,
Bao Fen,
George Edwin,
Krstevska Shana,
Gorden Veronica,
Chorostecki Jessica,
Santiago Carla,
Zak Imad,
Caon Christina,
Khan Omar
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
movement disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.352
H-Index - 198
eISSN - 1531-8257
pISSN - 0885-3185
DOI - 10.1002/mds.26323
Subject(s) - substantia nigra , parkinson's disease , nuclear magnetic resonance , central nervous system disease , in vivo magnetic resonance spectroscopy , medicine , degenerative disease , nuclear medicine , neuroscience , magnetic resonance imaging , psychology , pathology , disease , physics , radiology
The value of biomarkers in early diagnosis and development of therapeutics in Parkinson's disease (PD) is well established. Methods We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a prospective, longitudinal study of 23 patients with early PD, naïve to dopaminergic therapy, and six age‐matched healthy controls to examine the temporal changes in metabolic profile of substantia nigra over a period of 3 months. Results N ‐acetyl aspartate to creatine ratio at month 3 was compared with baseline values in the PD and control groups, as well as the side‐to‐side difference of the ratio at baseline. By month 3, n ‐acetyl aspartate to creatine ratio had decreased by 4.4% in patients with PD ( P = 0.024), without a concomitant change in healthy controls. The side‐to‐side asymmetry was significantly higher in the PD group (16.7%) vs. healthy controls (1.6%, P = 0.0024). Conclusion Estimation of change in the n ‐acetyl aspartate to creatine ratio appears to be a fast, quantifiable, and reliable marker of dopaminergic neuronal viability in PD. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society