[The determination of cerebral dopamine (D2) receptor density by using 123I-IBZM-SPECT in Parkinson disease patients]

An alteration of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal system is believed to be the main pathogenetic factor of Parkinson's disease (PD). We report on our initial results on the determination of the post-synaptic dopamine-D2-receptor binding of 123I-IBZM in patients with PD. Drug-native patients showed a significantly higher IBZM binding in the basal ganglia as compared to patients on specific dopaminergic medication. Age, duration of the disease and the severity of the disease do not seem to influence the IBZM-receptor binding. We conclude that 123I-IBZM-SPECT is an extremely useful tool for the evaluation of the functional state of cerebral dopamine-D2-receptors.