Evaluation of Parkinson's disease by neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging and 123I-FP-CIT SPECT.

Background Both neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NmMRI) and 123I-FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (DaTSCAN) assist the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there have been few studies investigating a correlation between them. Purpose To correlate the utility of NmMRI and DaTSCAN and to evaluate the relationship between both imaging findings and the Unified PD rating scale part III (UPDRS III) score for the diagnosis and management of PD. Material and Methods Seventeen patients with PD who underwent both NmMRI and DaTSCAN were included. We measured the volume of the neuromelanin-positive substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc volume) on NmMRI and measured the specific binding ratio (SBR) on DaTSCAN. The asymmetry index (AI) of the SNc volume and SBR were also calculated. We evaluated the relationship between the UPDRS III score and the SNc volume and SBR, respectively. Results The SNc volume showed a significant correlation with the SBR. The AIs of them also showed a significant correlation. Both the mean of the bilateral SBR and the mean of the bilateral SNc volume showed significant negative correlations with the UPDRS III score. However, the correlation between the SBR and the UPDRS III score was stronger than that between the SNc volume and the UPDRS III score. Conclusion Both NmMRI and DaTSCAN are helpful for PD diagnosis. However, we conclude that DaTSCAN is more suitable for the evaluation of the clinical motor severity and would be more useful for the management of PD patients than NmMRI.