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Updated: Apr 28, 2026
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Sequential Extraction of Soluble and Insoluble Alpha-Synuclein from Parkinsonian Brains
Published on: January 5, 2016
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Progression trajectories from prodromal to overt synucleinopathies: a longitudinal, multicentric brain [18F]FDG-PET
Beatrice Orso1, Pietro Mattioli2,3, Eun-Jin Yoon4
1Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health (DINOGMI), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy. beatrice27orso@gmail.com.
NPJ Parkinson'S Disease
|October 25, 2024
Summary
Brain [18F]FDG-PET scans show promise in predicting whether patients with isolated Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) will develop Parkinson
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging and Neurology
- Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Idiopathic Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) is a prodromal sign for alpha-synucleinopathies like Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB).
- The specific phenoconversion trajectory from iRBD to either PD or DLB remains uncertain.
- Baseline brain [18F]FDG-PET imaging may offer insights into differentiating these progression pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the capability of baseline brain [18F]FDG-PET patterns in differentiating iRBD patients who eventually phenoconvert to PD versus DLB.
- To assess the predictive power of these [18F]FDG-PET patterns for phenoconversion trajectories in a longitudinal cohort of iRBD patients.
Main Methods:
- Derived specific [18F]FDG-PET patterns (denovoPDRBD-RP and denovoDLBRBD-RP) from de novo PD and DLB patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD).
- Applied these derived patterns to a cohort of 115 iRBD patients.
- Utilized survival analysis to associate [18F]FDG-PET patterns with phenoconversion outcomes over a mean follow-up of 25.6 months.
Main Results:
- Out of 115 iRBD patients, 42 progressed to overt alpha-synucleinopathy (21 to PD, 21 to DLB) within the follow-up period.
- Both the denovoPDRBD-RP and denovoDLBRBD-RP patterns were significantly associated with the respective phenoconversion trajectories.
- Brain [18F]FDG-PET demonstrated significant predictive capability for phenoconversion in iRBD patients.
Conclusions:
- Baseline brain [18F]FDG-PET imaging shows potential as a biomarker for predicting phenoconversion in the alpha-synucleinopathy continuum.
- This neuroimaging technique can aid in differentiating the progression pathways from iRBD towards PD or DLB.
- Further research can leverage [18F]FDG-PET to understand and potentially manage the progression of these neurodegenerative diseases.
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