The importance of dopamine transporter imaging in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. The loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra and the reduction of dopamine projections to the striatum play a determining role in the physiopathology of the disease. The diagnosis of PD is still dependent on a clinical evaluation and as a result it is subject to a significant margin of error especially in the early stages of the disease. Dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging is a modern method of identifying the presynaptic dopaminergic dysfunction in the nigro-striatal structures, allowing early diagnosis of degenerative parkinsonism. Also DAT imaging is an important and sometimes decisive instrument in differentiating between the parkinsonism apparent in PD and other types of parkinsonism.