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Dynamic Digital Biomarkers of Motor and Cognitive Function in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: July 24, 2019
VBM Reveals Brain Volume Differences between Parkinson's Disease and Essential Tremor Patients
Ching-Hung Lin1, Chun-Ming Chen, Ming-Kuei Lu
1Biomedical Engineering R&D Center, China Medical University , Taichung , Taiwan ; Biomedical Electronics Translational Research Center, National Chiao Tung University , Hsinchu , Taiwan ; Department of Psychology, Soochow University , Taipei , Taiwan.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|June 21, 2013
Summary
Essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) share initial symptoms. This study found distinct brain volume changes and compensatory effects in ET and PD patients, potentially aiding in diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Radiology
Background:
- Essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) exhibit overlapping initial symptoms, complicating differential diagnosis.
- Limited neuroanatomical biomarkers currently exist to distinguish between ET and PD.
- Previous research has not extensively compared brain volume changes and compensatory mechanisms in ET and PD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate compensatory and degenerative anatomical changes in the brains of patients with ET and PD.
- To identify potential neuroanatomical biomarkers for differentiating ET from PD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approaches (Basic and DARTEL) for image processing.
- Analyzed anatomical brain images from 10 PD patients, 10 ET patients, and 13 age-matched healthy controls.
- Acquired magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data using a 3T scanner.
Main Results:
- Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET) demonstrated unique patterns of brain volume alterations.
- Observed compensatory effects, indicative of brain self-reorganization, in the thalamus and middle temporal gyrus for both PD and ET patients.
- These compensatory changes may relate to enhanced thalamocortical sensorimotor interaction (PD) and head-eye position readjustment (ET).
Conclusions:
- Distinct patterns of brain volume changes and compensatory mechanisms exist between PD and ET.
- The identified neuroanatomical differences may serve as valuable biomarkers for distinguishing between these conditions.
- Further research into these anatomical distinctions could improve diagnostic accuracy for movement disorders.
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