Substantia nigra volume loss before basal forebrain degeneration in early Parkinson disease.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To test the hypothesis that degeneration of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) precedes that of the cholinergic basal forebrain (BF) in Parkinson disease (PD) using new multispectral structural magnetic resonance (MR) imaging tools to measure the volumes of the SNc and BF.

Design

Matched case-control study.

Setting

The Athinoula A. Martinos Imaging Center at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Massachusetts General Hospital/MIT Morris Udall Center of Excellence in Parkinson Disease Research.

Patients

Participants included 29 patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr [H&Y] stages 1-3) and 27 matched healthy control subjects.

Main outcome measures

We acquired multiecho T1-weighted, multiech

SUBMITTER: Ziegler DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5751707 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature