Mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic innervation modulates Levodopa-related improvements in gait in older slow walking Adults: A [¹¹C]PE2I PET study.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Slow walking in healthy older adults may result from multifactorial deficits involving the muscular, peripheral, and central nervous systems. While mobility depends on these systems, the brain's neuromodulatory capacity may offer insights for interventions. This open-label imaging study tested whether the dopaminergic system serves as a resilience mechanism for gait in the elderly. Using [¹¹C]PE2I dopamine transporter (DAT) PET, we assessed whether baseline dopaminergic innervation modulates the response to a one-week carbidopa-levodopa regimen in slow-walking older adults without Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods

Slow walking older adults without clinical evidence of PD (n = 9) were pre-treated with carbidopa 25 mg one tablet TID for three days, followed

SUBMITTER: Paalanen N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12169706 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature