ABSTRACT
Objective To evaluate the clinical value of trascranial sonography (TCS) in measuring hyperechogenic substantia nigra ( SN) area and area ratio of SN to midbrain ( S/M) for the diagnosis of Parkinson′s disease( PD).Methods A total of 109 PD patients ( PD group) and 115 normal controls (control group) underwent TCS.The area of midbrain and SN and the area ratio of S/M were measured and compared between PD group and control group .Statistical analysis of the two parameters in predicting PD was performed with receive operating characteristic ( ROC) curves.The sensitivity and specificity of each parameter and their combination were calculated .Results The hyperechogenic SN area and S/M were (0.34 ±0.27)cm 2 and (12.15 ±4.57)%in PD group,whereas (0.14 ±0.08)cm 2 and (6.37 ±3.30)%in control group respectively .The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (t=82.68, 100.83,both P7.52%,the sensitivity was 80.4%and the specificity was 78.6%.Conclusions TCS is a fast, convenient,effective and useful tool for screening PD .The combination of the SN area and S/M provided the best diagnostic parameters.