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Functional connectivity in the basal ganglia network differentiates PD patients from controls
Konrad Szewczyk-Krolikowski1, Ricarda A L Menke1, Michal Rolinski1
1From the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences (K.S.-K., M.R., M.H.), Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre (OPDC) (K.S.-K., R.A.L.M., M.R., M.T.M.H., C.E.M.), Department of Psychiatry (C.E.M.), and FMRIB Centre (R.A.L.M., E.D., G.S.-K., N.F., G.Z., C.E.M.), University of Oxford, UK.
Neurology
|June 13, 2014
Summary
Resting-state functional connectivity in the basal ganglia network (BGN) is reduced in early Parkinson disease (PD) patients and improves with medication. This MRI-based method shows promise as a biomarker for early PD detection.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Cognitive function in early Parkinson disease (PD) is often preserved.
- Basal ganglia network (BGN) dysfunction is implicated in PD.
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) can assess brain network connectivity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate BGN functional connectivity in early PD patients compared to healthy controls (HC).
- To assess the impact of dopaminergic medication on BGN connectivity in PD.
- To validate RS-fMRI connectivity as a potential biomarker for early PD.
Main Methods:
- RS-fMRI was used to measure BGN connectivity in PD patients (on/off medication) and HC.
- Independent component analysis isolated resting-state networks.
- A BGN template was created, and connectivity maps were analyzed for group differences and validated in a separate cohort.
Main Results:
- PD patients exhibited reduced BGN functional connectivity compared to HC.
- Dopaminergic medication significantly improved BGN connectivity in PD patients.
- BGN connectivity accurately differentiated PD patients from controls (100% sensitivity, 89.5% specificity) and was validated with 85% accuracy.
Conclusions:
- Resting-state functional connectivity is reproducibly reduced in the BGN of cognitively intact early PD patients.
- Dopaminergic medication increases BGN connectivity in PD.
- RS-fMRI connectivity shows potential as an observer-independent biomarker for early PD.
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