Multimodal neuroimaging evaluation of dopaminergic function, cortical metabolism, and functional connectivity alterations in early-onset Parkinson′s disease
10.3760/cma.j.cn112149-20250114-00028
- VernacularTitle:多模态神经影像技术评估早发型帕金森病多巴胺神经元、相关皮层代谢及连接网络改变
- Author:
Yan CHANG
1
;
Xiaodan XU
;
Jiajin LIU
;
Shuwei SUN
;
Yungang LI
;
Hengge XIE
;
Chao WEI
;
Yuanyan CAO
;
Ruozhuo LIU
;
Ruimin WANG
Author Information
1. 解放军总医院第一医学中心核医学科，北京 100853
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Parkinson disease;
Multimodal imaging;
Functional connectivity;
Dopamine transporter
- From:
Chinese Journal of Radiology
2025;59(11):1260-1266
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To evaluate alterations in dopaminergic neurons, cortical metabolism, and functional connectivity networks in patients with early-onset Parkinson′s disease (EOPD) using multimodal neuroimaging.Methods:In this prospective cross-sectional study, 26 patients with EOPD and 16 healthy controls (HC group) were recruited from the PLA General Hospital between April and November 2023. All participants underwent integrated 11C-β-CFT PET/MR, 18F-FDG PET/CT brain imaging and resting-state functional MRI. Clinical assessments were conducted using the Unified Parkinson′s Disease Rating Scale and Hoehn-Yahr staging. Cognitive status was evaluated using the Mini-Mental State Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Standardized uptake value ratios for both 11C-β-CFT and 18F-FDG PET images were calculated using cerebellar gray matter as the reference region. Voxel-wise two-sample t-tests were performed to identify regions with significant group differences in tracer uptake. Seed regions showing altered 11C-β-CFT or 18F-FDG uptake were used to compute seed-based functional connectivity (FC) with all other brain voxels, and group differences in FC were assessed. Correlations between imaging metrics and clinical scales were evaluated using Pearson or Spearman analyses as appropriate. Results:Compared with HC group, EOPD group showed significantly reduced 11C-β-CFT uptake in the bilateral putamen, globus pallidus, and left temporal pole ( P<0.05), and decreased 18F-FDG uptake in the right superior frontal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex ( P<0.05). Relative to HC group, EOPD group exhibited markedly lower FC between the right putamen and the left gyrus rectus as well as the right parahippocampal gyrus; the right superior frontal gyrus and the left gyrus rectus; the anterior cingulate cortex and the olfactory area of the frontal lobe, the left gyrus rectus, and the right superior parietal gyrus; the left temporal pole and the left orbitofrontal cortex as well as the left olfactory area ( P<0.05). Correlation analyses revealed no statistically significant associations between altered FC values and clinical scale scores in the EOPD group. Conclusions:Patients with EOPD demonstrate impaired nigrostriatal dopaminergic function, regional cortical hypometabolism, and aberrant functional connectivity across multiple brain networks.
