Toomas Toomsoo1, Inga Liepelt-Scarfone1, Riina Kerner1, Liis Kadastik-Eerme1, Toomas Asser2, Inna Rubanovits1, Daniela Berg1, Pille Taba1. 1. Center of Neurology, East Tallinn Central Hospital, Tallinn, Estonia (T.T., I.R.); Department of Neurodegeneration, Center of Neurology, Hertie Institute of Clinical Brain Research and German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany (I.L.-S., D.B.); Statistics Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia (R.K.); and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia (L.K.-E., T.A., P.T.). 2. Center of Neurology, East Tallinn Central Hospital, Tallinn, Estonia (T.T., I.R.); Department of Neurodegeneration, Center of Neurology, Hertie Institute of Clinical Brain Research and German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany (I.L.-S., D.B.); Statistics Estonia, Tallinn, Estonia (R.K.); and Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia (L.K.-E., T.A., P.T.). toomas.toomsoo@itk.ee.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Substantia nigra hyperechogenicity is a promising biomarker for Parkinson disease (PD). Substantia nigra hyperechogenicity has previously been established as a useful diagnostic criterion in several European and Asian patient cohorts. However, diagnostic cutoff values for substantia nigra hyperechogenicity remain unknown for most patient populations. This study validated the diagnostic accuracy of substantia nigra hyperechogenicity in a large cohort of patients with PD in Estonia. METHODS: The study included 300 patients with PD from Estonia, representing 10% of the national PD patient population, and 200 healthy control participants. To define the optimal cutoff value in the PD cohort, data from a single assessment versus repetitive assessments by transcranial sonography were compared. With the use of 3 repetitive assessments, the diagnostic accuracy of the data was measured. In addition, calculations for percentile values were used to define substantia nigra hyperechogenicity among controls. RESULTS: Our data showed that the multiassessment approach yielded higher diagnostic accuracy than a single assessment (P = .021). The highest diagnostic accuracy was achieved by using the measurement mean to define substantia nigra hyperechogenicity, which was 0.23 cm(2) (sensitivity, 88.7%; specificity, 92.2%), whereas single measurements detected PD with higher sensitivity (sensitivity, 93.2%; specificity, 85.1%). No significant difference was found between mean and median measurements (P= .18). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates the diagnostic merit of transcranial sonography in PD diagnosis in an additional population and demonstrates that transcranial sonography of the substantia nigra is a relevant and useful diagnostic tool for patients with PD.
OBJECTIVES: Substantia nigra hyperechogenicity is a promising biomarker for Parkinson disease (PD). Substantia nigra hyperechogenicity has previously been established as a useful diagnostic criterion in several European and Asian patient cohorts. However, diagnostic cutoff values for substantia nigra hyperechogenicity remain unknown for most patient populations. This study validated the diagnostic accuracy of substantia nigra hyperechogenicity in a large cohort of patients with PD in Estonia. METHODS: The study included 300 patients with PD from Estonia, representing 10% of the national PDpatient population, and 200 healthy control participants. To define the optimal cutoff value in the PD cohort, data from a single assessment versus repetitive assessments by transcranial sonography were compared. With the use of 3 repetitive assessments, the diagnostic accuracy of the data was measured. In addition, calculations for percentile values were used to define substantia nigra hyperechogenicity among controls. RESULTS: Our data showed that the multiassessment approach yielded higher diagnostic accuracy than a single assessment (P = .021). The highest diagnostic accuracy was achieved by using the measurement mean to define substantia nigra hyperechogenicity, which was 0.23 cm(2) (sensitivity, 88.7%; specificity, 92.2%), whereas single measurements detected PD with higher sensitivity (sensitivity, 93.2%; specificity, 85.1%). No significant difference was found between mean and median measurements (P= .18). CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates the diagnostic merit of transcranial sonography in PD diagnosis in an additional population and demonstrates that transcranial sonography of the substantia nigra is a relevant and useful diagnostic tool for patients with PD.
Authors: Oxana P Trifonova; Dmitri L Maslov; Elena E Balashova; Guzel R Urazgildeeva; Denis A Abaimov; Ekaterina Yu Fedotova; Vsevolod V Poleschuk; Sergey N Illarioshkin; Petr G Lokhov Journal: Diagnostics (Basel) Date: 2020-05-25