Longitudinal brain connectivity changes and clinical evolution in Parkinson's disease.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging
• Neurology

Background:

• Understanding neurodegenerative processes in Parkinson's disease (PD) requires longitudinal studies.
• Resting state (RS) functional MRI (fMRI) offers insights into brain network alterations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate longitudinal brain network changes in PD patients across different disease stages.
• To identify PD subtypes and assess the predictive value of functional connectivity for clinical deterioration.

Main Methods:

• Cluster analysis of clinical data from 146 PD patients to define subtypes.
• Serial RS fMRI scans over 4 years to assess brain network alterations.
• Comparison of network changes across PD subtypes and correlation with clinical evolution.

Main Results:

• Two PD clusters identified: mild and moderate-to-severe, with distinct clinical profiles.
• Longitudinal functional connectivity changes (hypo- and hyper-connectivity) varied across subtypes.
• Baseline RS fMRI changes predicted motor, cognitive, and non-motor progression.

Conclusions:

• RS fMRI can define trajectories of functional architecture changes in PD.
• RS fMRI shows potential as an early biomarker for PD progression, aiding in understanding neurodegeneration.