BACKGROUND: Carriers of the Huntington disease (HD) mutation develop a progressive neurodegenerative disorder after a pre-clinical phase. We examined the value of (11)C-raclopride PET (RAC) as a biomarker for pre-clinical HD pathophysiology. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study with clinical and neuropsychological assessment we collected complete RAC data in 18 pre-clinical mutation carriers (HD-PMC) and 11 controls. Follow-up was 2 years. We calculated striatal RAC binding potential (BP) to measure dopamine D2 receptor availability. RESULTS: No HD-PMC had overt neuropsychological dysfunction. RAC-BP in putamen was abnormal in up to 44% of HD-PMC. The rate of RAC-BP decline (2.6% per year) was not significantly higher than in controls. Follow-up putaminal BP correlated weakly with predicted distance to onset of clinical HD (P = 0.034), but the rate of decline did not. Three HD-PMC developed motor abnormalities suspect for HD but did not show an increased rate of decline of putaminal BP. CONCLUSIONS: Many HD-PMC have striatal abnormalities but we found no clearly increased rate of D2 receptor changes around the onset of clinical HD. A longer follow-up of the present study cohort is needed to establish the value of RAC-BP in assessing the risk of clinical conversion from striatal D2 binding data.
BACKGROUND: Carriers of the Huntington disease (HD) mutation develop a progressive neurodegenerative disorder after a pre-clinical phase. We examined the value of (11)C-raclopride PET (RAC) as a biomarker for pre-clinical HD pathophysiology. METHODS: In a prospective cohort study with clinical and neuropsychological assessment we collected complete RAC data in 18 pre-clinical mutation carriers (HD-PMC) and 11 controls. Follow-up was 2 years. We calculated striatal RAC binding potential (BP) to measure dopamine D2 receptor availability. RESULTS: No HD-PMC had overt neuropsychological dysfunction. RAC-BP in putamen was abnormal in up to 44% of HD-PMC. The rate of RAC-BP decline (2.6% per year) was not significantly higher than in controls. Follow-up putaminal BP correlated weakly with predicted distance to onset of clinical HD (P = 0.034), but the rate of decline did not. Three HD-PMC developed motor abnormalities suspect for HD but did not show an increased rate of decline of putaminal BP. CONCLUSIONS: Many HD-PMC have striatal abnormalities but we found no clearly increased rate of D2 receptor changes around the onset of clinical HD. A longer follow-up of the present study cohort is needed to establish the value of RAC-BP in assessing the risk of clinical conversion from striatal D2 binding data.
Authors: Meike Herben-Dekker; Joost C H van Oostrom; Raymund A C Roos; Caroline K Jurgens; Marie-Noëlle W Witjes-Ané; Hubertus P H Kremer; Klaus L Leenders; Jacoba M Spikman Journal: J Neurol Date: 2014-04-30 Impact factor: 4.849
Authors: Chris C Tang; Andrew Feigin; Yilong Ma; Christian Habeck; Jane S Paulsen; Klaus L Leenders; Laura K Teune; Joost C H van Oostrom; Mark Guttman; Vijay Dhawan; David Eidelberg Journal: J Clin Invest Date: 2013-08-29 Impact factor: 14.808