MRI evaluation of the basal ganglia size and iron content in patients with Parkinson's disease

• Published in: Journal of neurology Vol. 253; no. 1; pp. 26 - 32
• Main Authors: KOSTA, Paraskevi, ARGYROPOULOU, Maria I, MARKOULA, Sofia, KONITSIOTIS, Spyridon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin Springer 2006; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Age of Onset; Aged; Basal ganglia; Basal Ganglia - pathology; Biological and medical sciences; Case-Control Studies; Caudate nucleus; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Dopamine receptors; Electrical stimuli; Female; Functional Laterality; Globus pallidus; Humans; Iron; Iron - metabolism; Locus coeruleus; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Movement disorders; Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neurology; Nuclei; Parkinson Disease - metabolism; Parkinson Disease - pathology; Parkinson's disease; Putamen; Solitary tract nucleus; Substantia nigra; Subthalamic nucleus; Human; Evaluation; Parkinson's; Nervous system diseases; MRI; basal ganglia ,T2 relaxation time; Central nervous system; Parkinson disease; Iron; Basal ganglion; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Relaxation time; Cerebral disorder; Central nervous system disease; Degenerative disease; Extrapyramidal syndrome
• ISSN: 0340-5354; 1432-1459
• DOI: 10.1007/s00415-005-0914-9

To evaluate by MRI the area size and the degree of iron accumulation in basal ganglia nuclei that are implicated in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD).
40 patients with idiopathic PD and 40 controls were examined on a 1. 5 Tesla MR imager, using a multiecho SE sequence 2000/20, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140, 160 (TR/TE). The T2 relaxation time (T2) and the area of substantia nigra zona compacta (SNc), substantia nigra zona reticulata (SNr), putamen (Pu), globus pallidus external (GPe), globus pallidus internal (GPi), caudate nucleus (CN), locus coeruleus (LC) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) were assessed.
The T2 of SNc (76. 8 +/- 6. 0) was lower and of Pu (79.5 +/- 6.0) and GPe (69.5 +/- 7.0) was higher in patients than in controls (78.6 +/- 3.8, 77.4 +/- 3.9 and 67.3 +/- 5.7, respectively), p < 0.05. The area of CN (125.9 +/- 20.2) and Pu (201.5 +/- 48.7) was higher in patients than in controls (110.7 +/- 21.5 and 180.1 +/- 41.1, respectively), p < 0.05. A more pronounced decrease in the T2 of SNc (73.6 +/- 8.9) was observed when the more affected side of patients was evaluated separately. In patients with disease duration > 5 years the T2 of STN (71.5 +/- 6.3) was lower and the area of Pu was higher (215.3 +/- 54.9) compared with those with disease duration < or = 5 years (75.8 +/- 10.9 and 190.9 +/- 41.0 respectively), p < 0.05.
These findings suggest that dysfunction of the basal ganglia circuitry in PD may affect iron content not only in SNc but in STN, Pu and GPe as well. Compensatory sprouting of the remaining dopaminergic fibers could account for the increased area of the CN and Pu.