ECT in Parkinson's disease-dopamine transporter visualised by [123I]-beta-CIT SPECT

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by a loss of dopaminergic neurones in the basal ganglia. These neurones may be visualised by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with the cocaine analogue 2beta-carboxymethyl-3-beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([123I]beta-CIT), which labels the dopamine reuptake sites in the nerve terminals. In order to evaluate the possibility to predict the outcome of ECT a prospective study was performed with six PD patients in whom the [123I]beta-CIT uptake was measured before and after an electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) series. The side-to-side difference in the radiotracer uptake was found to be significantly lower in striatum located contralaterally to the part of the body with the most pronounced symptomatology. No significant change in uptake of the radioligand was seen after ECT. Patients with best uptake and thus with less advanced PD improved most after ECT. The possibility to use the [123I]beta-CIT uptake to predict the outcome of ECT treatment has to be further evaluated.