PET Imaging in Movement Disorders

Positron emission tomography (PET) has revealed key insights into the pathophysiology of movement disorders. This paper will focus on how PET investigations of pathophysiology are particularly relevant to Parkinson disease, a neurodegenerative condition usually starting later in life marked by a varying combination of motor and nonmotor deficits. Various molecular imaging modalities help to determine what changes in brain herald the onset of pathology; can these changes be used to identify presymptomatic individuals who may be appropriate for to-be-developed treatments that may forestall onset of symptoms or slow disease progression; can PET act as a biomarker of disease progression; can molecular imaging help enrich homogenous cohorts for clinical studies; and what other pathophysiologic mechanisms relate to nonmotor manifestations.
Source: Seminars in Nuclear Medicine - Category: Nuclear Medicine Authors: Source Type: research