AUTHOR=Lin Wei-Che , Chen Hsiu-Ling , Hsu Tun-Wei , Hsu Chien-Chin , Huang Yung-Cheng , Tsai Nai-Wen , Lu Cheng-Hsien 

TITLE=Correlation between Dopamine Transporter Degradation and Striatocortical Network Alteration in Parkinson’s Disease

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2017.00323

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2017.00323

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=<p>The association between dopamine neuron loss and functional change in the striatocortical network was analyzed in 31 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) [mean disease duration 4.03 ± 4.20 years; Hoehn and Yahr (HY) stage 2.2 ± 1.2] and 37 age-matched normal control subjects. We performed <sup>99m</sup>Tc-TRODAT-1 SPECT/CT imaging to detect neuron losses and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to detect functional changes. Mean striatal dopamine transporter binding ratios were determined by region of interest analysis. The functional connectivity correlation coefficient (fc-cc) was determined in six striatal subregions, and interactions between these binding ratios and the striatocortical fc-cc values were analyzed. The PD patients had significant functional network alterations in all striatal subregions. Lower striatal dopamine transporter binding correlated significantly with lower fc-cc values in the superior medial frontal (SMF) lobe and superior frontal lobe and higher fc-cc values in the cerebellum and parahippocampus. The difference in fc-cc between the ventral inferior striatum and SMF lobe was significantly correlated with increased disease duration (<italic>r</italic> = –0.533, <italic>P</italic> = 0.004), higher HY stage (<italic>r</italic> = –0.431, <italic>P</italic> = 0.020), and lower activities of daily living score (<italic>r</italic> = 0.369, <italic>P</italic> = 0.049). The correlation of frontostriatal network changes with clinical manifestations suggests that fc-cc may serve as a surrogate marker of disease progression.</p>