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Nigro‐striatal degeneration demonstrated in parkinsonian patients with iodine‐123‐beta‐CIT SPECT: Methods of quantitation
Author(s) -
Sjøholm H.,
Mellgren S. I.,
Sundsfjord J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1997.tb00246.x
Subject(s) - putamen , iodine 123 , striatum , parkinsonism , nuclear medicine , caudate nucleus , single photon emission computed tomography , medicine , beta (programming language) , chemistry , dopamine , disease , computer science , programming language
Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images were obtained in 3 healthy volunteers and 7 parkinsonian patients 22 h after injection of 120 MBq iodine‐123‐beta‐CIT. There was a high radioactivity in the striatal region against a uniform background in the volunteers but pronouncedly reduced striatal activity in the patients. Total striatal activity in each hemisphere of each individual was calculated as the sum of all activity in excess of the background in all reconstructed images. There was a high correlation between reduction of striatal activity and motor scores in the unified rating scale for parkinsonism (URSP) for the patients. A method developed for calculation of the activity distribution along the length axis of the striatum indicated a more pronounced degeneration in the putamen compared with the caudate nucleus in the patients. Iodine‐123‐beta‐CIT SPECT appears to be a good quantitative method for nigro‐striatal degeneration in parkinsonian patients.