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Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
10:28

Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease

Published on: July 24, 2019

A deformation-based morphometry study of patients with early-stage Parkinson's disease

P Borghammer1, K Østergaard, P Cumming

  • 1PET Centre, Aarhus University Hospitals, Aarhus, Denmark. per@pet.auh.dk

European Journal of Neurology
|November 17, 2009
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Deformation-based morphometry (DBM) shows early brain changes in Parkinson's disease (PD). This sensitive MRI technique detected cerebellar atrophy and other subtle morphological alterations in early-stage PD patients.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroimaging
  • Neurology
  • Radiology

Background:

  • Previous Parkinson's disease (PD) volumetric MRI studies predominantly used voxel-based morphometry (VBM).
  • Existing research often focused on moderate- to late-stage PD patients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To employ deformation-based morphometry (DBM), a more sensitive technique, for detecting atrophy in early-stage PD.
  • To investigate subtle brain structural changes in early PD using advanced MRI analysis.

Main Methods:

  • Compared T1-weighted MRI scans from 24 early-stage PD patients and 26 controls using DBM.
  • Utilized iterative, hierarchical, population-based MRI averaging to estimate nonlinear transformations for subject-to-average matching.

Main Results:

  • DBM revealed significant left cerebellar contraction in early PD patients compared to controls.
  • Observed non-significant trends of frontal, temporal, and cingulate sulcal expansions, alongside frontal and temporal white matter contractions.
  • Found strong correlations between PD rating scores and local sulcal expansions in frontal and temporal regions within the patient group.

Conclusions:

  • DBM demonstrates high sensitivity for detecting morphological alterations in early-stage PD.
  • Suggests DBM is a valuable tool for early diagnosis and monitoring of PD-related brain changes.

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