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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
Non-invasive Parenchymal, Vascular and Metabolic High-frequency Ultrasound and Photoacoustic Rat Deep Brain Imaging
Published on: March 2, 2015
Transcranial brain parenchymal sonography in neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases
Milija D Mijajlovic1, Georgios Tsivgoulis2, Nadezda Sternic2
1Neurology Clinic, Clinical Center of Serbia, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia (M.D.M., N.S.); Second Department of Neurology, University of Athens, School of Medicine, Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece (G.T.); and International Clinical Research Center, St Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic (G.T.). milijamijajlovic@yahoo.com.
Abstract:
Transcranial sonography is a highly sensitive noninvasive sonographic method for detection of early and specific echogenic changes in basal ganglia of patients with some neurodegenerative diseases. Transcranial sonography showed substantia nigra hyperechogenicity as a typical echo feature in idiopathic Parkinson disease and lenticular nucleus hyperechogenicity as a characteristic finding in atypical parkinsonian syndromes. Brain stem raphe hypoechogenicity or interruption has been shown to be highly prevalent in patients with unipolar depression as well as depression associated with certain neurodegenerative diseases. Transcranial sonography also revealed basal ganglia hyperechoic changes in movement disorders with trace metal accumulation such as Wilson disease, some entities of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation, as well as several forms of spinocerebellar ataxia. Transcranial sonography is a valuable neuro imaging method for early and differential diagnosis and follow-up of patients with neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.
