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Author Spotlight: Exploring Plasticity of Sympathetic Neurons
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Long-term trends in myocardial sympathetic innervation and function in synucleinopathies
Guillaume Lamotte1, Courtney Holmes2, Tianxia Wu3
1Clinical Neurosciences Program (CNP), Division of Intramural Research (CNP), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), 9000 Rockville Pike 10/8C260, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA; Clinical Neurocardiology Section, CNP/DIR/NINDS/NIH, 9000 Rockville Pike 10/8C260, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
Parkinsonism & Related Disorders
|October 18, 2019
Summary
Synucleinopathies like Parkinson disease show reduced cardiac sympathetic nerve function. This neuroimaging study reveals early signs of catecholamine dysfunction, aiding in disease diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Cardiology
- Nuclear Medicine
Background:
- Synucleinopathies, including Parkinson disease (PD), pure autonomic failure (PAF), and multiple system atrophy (MSA), are characterized by alpha-synuclein deposition.
- Lewy body synucleinopathies are associated with reduced cardiac sympathetic innervation and impaired noradrenergic terminal function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate long-term trends in cardiac sympathetic innervation and function in patients with synucleinopathies.
- To assess the utility of 18F-dopamine PET imaging as a biomarker for early catecholaminergic dysfunction.
Main Methods:
- Observational, retrospective cohort study involving patients with PD, PAF, and MSA.
- Repeated 18F-dopamine positron emission tomography (PET) scans over a median follow-up of 3.5 years.
- Quantification of cardiac sympathetic innervation (8' Radioactivity) and intraneuronal vesicular storage (k8'-25') using PET.
Main Results:
- Patients with PD and PAF exhibited significantly lower 8' Radioactivity and elevated k8'-25' compared to healthy volunteers upon initial evaluation.
- Cardiac sympathetic innervation (8' Radioactivity) decreased annually in PD patients but remained stable in MSA.
- No significant changes in vesicular storage (k8'-25') were observed during follow-up across all groups.
Conclusions:
- 18F-dopamine PET imaging demonstrates decreased vesicular uptake in cardiac sympathetic nerves in Lewy body synucleinopathies.
- This neuroimaging finding may serve as an early biomarker for catecholaminergic dysfunction in these conditions.
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