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Longitudinal white matter microstructural change in Parkinson's disease.
Vincent Pozorski1,2, Jennifer M Oh1,3, Nagesh Adluru4
1William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin.
Human Brain Mapping
|June 29, 2018
Summary
Parkinson's disease (PD) accelerates white matter (WM) microstructural decline, particularly in the brainstem and subcortical WM, exceeding normal aging. Early-stage PD shows the most significant WM changes.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neurodegeneration
- Neuropathology
Background:
- Postmortem Parkinson's disease (PD) studies reveal a predictable Lewy body pathology sequence.
- Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) detects white matter (WM) changes in neurodegenerative diseases.
- Longitudinal DWI studies in PD are limited, particularly regarding aging and Lewy body progression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To longitudinally map regional DWI-based microstructural changes in PD patients compared to controls.
- To assess if WM changes in PD exceed normal aging.
- To correlate WM changes with early-stage disease progression and clinical signs.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study comparing 29 PD patients and 43 age-matched controls over 18 months.
- Used tensor-based registration on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data.
- Analyzed fractional anisotropy and diffusivity changes using Biological Parametric Mapping.
Main Results:
- PD patients exhibited accelerated WM decline in the rostral brainstem, caudal subcortical WM, and cerebellar peduncles versus controls.
- Patients with unilateral baseline signs showed faster WM change than those with bilateral signs.
- WM microstructural decline in PD surpasses normal aging, peaking in early disease stages.
Conclusions:
- The rate of WM microstructural change in PD is greater than in normal aging.
- Accelerated WM changes occur in specific neuroanatomic locations aligning with PD progression theories.
- Early-stage PD, particularly with unilateral signs, demonstrates significant WM alterations.