TY - JOUR

T1 - The role of neuroimaging in Parkinson’s disease

AU - Bidesi, Natasha S. R.

AU - Vang Andersen, Ida

AU - Windhorst, Albert D.

AU - Shalgunov, Vladimir

AU - Herth, Matthias M.

N1 - Funding Information: This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Skłodowska‐Curie grant agreement No 813528. VS was supported by BRIDGE – Translational Excellence Program at the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant agreement no. NNF18SA0034956). Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Neurochemistry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Society for Neurochemistry

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Two hallmarks of PD are the accumulation of alpha-synuclein and the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. There is no cure for PD, and all existing treatments focus on alleviating the symptoms. PD diagnosis is also based on the symptoms, such as abnormalities of movement, mood, and cognition observed in the patients. Molecular imaging methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET) can detect objective alterations in the neurochemical machinery of the brain and help diagnose and study neurodegenerative diseases. This review addresses the application of functional MRI, PET, and SPECT in PD patients. We provide an overview of the imaging targets, discuss the rationale behind target selection, the agents (tracers) with which the imaging can be performed, and the main findings regarding each target's state in PD. Molecular imaging has proven itself effective in supporting clinical diagnosis of PD and has helped reveal that PD is a heterogeneous disorder, which has important implications for the development of future therapies. However, the application of molecular imaging for early diagnosis of PD or for differentiation between PD and atypical parkinsonisms has remained challenging. The final section of the review is dedicated to new imaging targets with which one can detect the PD-related pathological changes upstream from dopaminergic degeneration. The foremost of those targets is alpha-synuclein. We discuss the progress of tracer development achieved so far and challenges on the path toward alpha-synuclein imaging in humans.

AB - Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. Two hallmarks of PD are the accumulation of alpha-synuclein and the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. There is no cure for PD, and all existing treatments focus on alleviating the symptoms. PD diagnosis is also based on the symptoms, such as abnormalities of movement, mood, and cognition observed in the patients. Molecular imaging methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET) can detect objective alterations in the neurochemical machinery of the brain and help diagnose and study neurodegenerative diseases. This review addresses the application of functional MRI, PET, and SPECT in PD patients. We provide an overview of the imaging targets, discuss the rationale behind target selection, the agents (tracers) with which the imaging can be performed, and the main findings regarding each target's state in PD. Molecular imaging has proven itself effective in supporting clinical diagnosis of PD and has helped reveal that PD is a heterogeneous disorder, which has important implications for the development of future therapies. However, the application of molecular imaging for early diagnosis of PD or for differentiation between PD and atypical parkinsonisms has remained challenging. The final section of the review is dedicated to new imaging targets with which one can detect the PD-related pathological changes upstream from dopaminergic degeneration. The foremost of those targets is alpha-synuclein. We discuss the progress of tracer development achieved so far and challenges on the path toward alpha-synuclein imaging in humans.

KW - alpha-synuclein

KW - neurodegeneration

KW - neuroimaging

KW - Parkinson's disease

KW - PET

KW - SPECT

U2 - 10.1111/jnc.15516

DO - 10.1111/jnc.15516

M3 - Review

C2 - 34532856

AN - SCOPUS:85116149363

VL - 159

SP - 660

EP - 689

JO - Journal of Neurochemistry

JF - Journal of Neurochemistry

SN - 0022-3042

IS - 4

ER -