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Updated: Feb 18, 2026

MALDI Imaging Mass Spectrometry of Neuropeptides in Parkinson's Disease
Published on: February 14, 2012
Striatal dopamine in Parkinson disease: A meta-analysis of imaging studies
Valtteri Kaasinen1,2,3, Tero Vahlberg4,5
1Division of Clinical Neurosciences, Turku University Hospital.
Abstract:
A meta-analysis of 142 positron emission tomography and single photon emission computed tomography studies that have investigated striatal presynaptic dopamine function in Parkinson disease (PD) was performed. Subregional estimates of striatal dopamine metabolism are presented. The aromatic L-amino-acid decarboxylase (AADC) defect appears to be consistently smaller than the dopamine transporter and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 defects, suggesting upregulation of AADC function in PD. The correlation between disease severity and dopamine loss appears linear, but the majority of longitudinal studies point to a negative exponential progression pattern of dopamine loss in PD. Ann Neurol 2017;82:873-882.
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