[18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in Parkinson's disease]

Positron emission topographic studies on local cerebral glucose metabolism in Parkinson's disease (PD) including our own data were reviewed. In our 18F-FDG PET studies, local or global metabolic change was not found in 9 patients with non-demented PD, with respect to 5 normal controls. Moreover, there was not an apparent difference between severe PD group (Hoehn-Yahr III-IV) and mild PD group (Hoehn-Yahr I-II). In other PD patients with dementia or autonomic failure, parietal dominant hypometabolism was found likely to those of Alzheimer disease, but lenticular nucleus was well preserved. Furthermore 18F-FDG PET findings of atypical parkinsonian syndromes, such as SND and PSP were reviewed. They showed relative hypometabolism in the basal ganglia in PET images. PET study with FDG provides a clue to differential diagnosis of parkinsonian patients.