Cortical thickness in Parkinson's disease: a coordinate-based meta-analysis

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neurodegenerative Diseases
• Brain Anatomy

Background:

• Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder impacting the cerebral cortex.
• Cortical thickness (CTh) analysis using surface-based morphometry (SBM) is frequently used to detect gray matter changes in PD.
• Existing CTh findings in PD lack consistency and require systematic review.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a comprehensive coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) of cortical thickness alterations in Parkinson's disease.
• To systematically evaluate the reliability of CTh as a neuroimaging marker for PD.

Main Methods:

• A coordinate-based meta-analysis (CBMA) was performed on 38 CTh studies.
• Data included 1,843 patients with PD and 1,172 healthy controls.
• The latest seed-based d mapping software was utilized.

Main Results:

• No significantly consistent cortical thickness alterations were identified in patients with PD compared to controls.
• This suggests that CTh is not a reliable neuroimaging marker for PD.

Conclusions:

• The inconsistency in CTh findings may stem from clinical population heterogeneity, diverse imaging methods, and small sample sizes.
• Future PD neuroimaging studies should control for confounding factors to ensure robust and reproducible results.