Imaging the Functional Neuroanatomy of Parkinson’s Disease: Clinical Applications and Future Directions
Open Access
- 28 February 2021
- journal article
- viewpoint
- Published by MDPI AG in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- Vol. 18 (5), 2356
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052356
Abstract
The neurobiology of Parkinson’s disease and its progression has been investigated during the last few decades. Braak et al. proposed neuropathological stages of this disease based on the recognizable topographical extent of Lewy body lesions. This pathological process involves specific brain areas with an ascending course from the brain stem to the cortex. Post-mortem studies are of importance to better understand not only the progression of motor symptoms, but also the involvement of other domains, including cognition and behavior. The correlation between the neuropathological expansion of the disease and the clinical phases remains demanding. Neuroimaging, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), could help to bridge this existing gap by providing in vivo evidence of the extension of the disorders. In the last decade, we observed an overabundance of reports regarding the sensitivity of neuroimaging techniques. All these studies were aimed at improving the accuracy of Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis and discriminating it from other causes of parkinsonism. In this review, we look at the recent literature concerning PD and address the new frontier of diagnostic accuracy in terms of identification of early stages of the disease and conventional neuroimaging techniques that, in vivo, are capable of photographing the basal ganglia network and its cerebral connections.This publication has 61 references indexed in Scilit:
- The Heterogeneity of Early Parkinson’s Disease: A Cluster Analysis on Newly Diagnosed Untreated PatientsPLOS ONE, 2013
- Clinical utility of dopamine transporter single photon emission CT (DaT-SPECT) with (123I) ioflupane in diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromesJournal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2013
- Feasibility and Impact of a Function Focused Care Intervention for Parkinson's Disease in the CommunityNursing Research, 2011
- Direct visualization of Parkinson's disease by in vivo human brain imaging using 7.0T magnetic resonance imagingMovement Disorders, 2011
- Brief practical clinical diagnostic criteria for the neurodegenerative diseases in the elderlyDrugs and Therapy Studies, 2010
- Complex network measures of brain connectivity: Uses and interpretationsNeuroImage, 2010
- Differentiating vascular parkinsonism from idiopathic Parkinson's disease: A systematic reviewMovement Disorders, 2010
- The role of DAT-SPECT in movement disordersJournal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2009
- Parkinson's disease: clinical features and diagnosisJournal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2008
- Clinicopathological investigation of vascular parkinsonism, including clinical criteria for diagnosisMovement Disorders, 2004