Clinical value of transcranial sonography combined with olfactory test in early Parkinson′s disease / 中华超声影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the adjunctive diagnostic value of transcranial sonography (TCS) combined with olfactory test in early Parkinson′s disease (PD) and the clinical value of both in the cognitive function of PD patients.Methods:TCS and olfactory test were performed in 157 early PD patients(PD group) and 157 healthy controls(control group) in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from January 2018 to January 2022. The differences in clinical characteristics, TCS, and olfactory test results between the two groups were analyzed. The values of TCS, olfactory test, and their combination in diagnosing early PD were evaluated using clinical diagnosis as the gold standard. The correlations of the midbrain area, the midbrain substantia nigra hyperechoic area, and the third ventricle width in TCS examination with the cognitive score were analyzed in the PD group. According to the olfactory test scores, 157 patients with early PD were divided into two groups: 110 cases of PD with olfactory dysfunction (PD-OD) and 47 cases of PD without olfactory dysfunction (PD-NOD). The differences in clinical scores and TCS results between the two groups were compared.Results:The midbrain substantia nigra hyperechoic area, substantia nigra hyperechoic positivity rate, third ventricle width, and olfactory dysfunction rate were higher in the PD group compared to the control group, while the midbrain area and olfactory test scores were lower than those in the control group (all P<0.001). The sensitivity and the coincidence rate of TCS combined with the olfactory test for early PD diagnosis (90.0%, 77.1%) were higher than those of TCS alone (60.0%, 71.3%) and olfactory test alone (70.1%, 72.3%), but the specificity (63.7%) was lower than that of both alone (82.8% for TCS and 75.2% for olfactory test), (all P<0.001). MoCA score, visual space and executive ability, memory, attention, and language were positively correlated with the area of the midbrain ( rs=0.38, 0.32, 0.27, 0.25, 0.23; all P<0.05) and negatively correlated with the width of the third ventricle ( rs=-0.39, -0.22, -0.39, -0.22, -0.32; all P<0.05), and orientation was negatively correlated only with the width of the third ventricle ( rs=-0.24, P<0.05). The MoCA score of PD-OD group[22(18, 25)] was lower than that of PD-NOD group[24(20, 26)]( P=0.040). Conclusions:The combination of TCS and olfactory test can enhance the sensitivity and diagnostic agreement rate for early PD diagnosis, providing some auxiliary value. The cognitive function of PD patients is positively correlated with the midbrain area and negatively correlated with the width of the third ventricle. The cognitive function of PD patients with olfactory dysfunction is lower than that of PD patients without olfactory dysfunction. TCS and olfactory test may help assess cognitive function in PD patients.