Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Parkinson's Disease and Parkinsonian Syndromes

ABSTRACT

We compared heavily T2W high field MR images of 18 Parkinson's disease (PD group), 8 Parkinsonian syndromes (PS group progressive supranuclear palsy, OPCA, Shy-Drager syndrome, atypical' parkinsonism), and 20 control patients and exaimined the reported abnormalities (putaminal hypointensity, restoration of the signal intensity of the substantia nigra, narrowing of the pars compacta, brain atrophy) in our patients by 2.0 Tesla MRI. In this study, the narrowing of the signal band from the pars compacta of the substantia nigra was the most valuable index differentiating PD group or PS group from control group and the signal restoration of the substantia nirga was more common in PD than PS or control group. The frequency of putaminal hypointensity and brain atrophy increased with aging and brainstem atrophy was observed in only PS group.