scholarly journals Substantia Nigra Neuromelanin as an Imaging Biomarker of Disease Progression in Parkinson’s Disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margherita Fabbri ◽  
Sofia Reimão ◽  
Miguel Carvalho ◽  
Rita G. Nunes ◽  
Daisy Abreu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Imaging Biomarker

scholarly journals Unilateral loss of the swallow tail sign in a patient with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 59-62
Author(s):  
Anna Misyail Abd Rashid ◽  
Mohamad Syafeeq Faeez Md Noh ◽  
Abdul Hanif Khan Yusof Khan ◽  
Mohd Naim Mohd Yaakob ◽  
Norafida Bahari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Predictive Value ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Imaging Biomarker ◽  
Idiopathic Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Yahr Stage ◽  
Hand Tremor ◽  
Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease

A 66-year-old man with underlying hypertension and dyslipidemia presented with left hand tremor for one year. He also noticed difficulty in initiating movement and slowness in activities of daily living. On examination, he was noted to have mask-like facies with reduced blinking and monotonous speech. There was presence of resting pill-rolling tremor, bradykinesia, and cogwheel rigidity which was worst on the left upper limb. Gait assessment revealed difficulty in standing up, shuffling gait with reduced arm swing which was more prominent on the left side, and turning in numbers. No cerebellar signs and supranuclear palsy were present to suggest Parkinson-plus syndrome. Susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) showed loss of the swallow tail sign on the right side [Figure 1]. The clinical presentation, supplemented by the imaging findings were concluded to be pathognomonic of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD), Hoehn & Yahr stage 1. He was started on levodopa and benserazide twice daily with improvement of symptoms.The nigrosomes are primary subregions of the substantia nigra where dopaminergic cells are lost in IPD. Within these nigrosomes, maximal cell loss occurs in nigrosome-1; the largest subgroup of nigrosomes. Normally, they appear as a SWI-hyperintense area surrounded by hypointensity within the dorsolateral substantia nigra, akin to a swallow’s tail. In one study, poor visualization of nigrosome-1 was significantly associated with higher motor asymmetry in the contralateral side (sensitivity 98.5%, specificity 93.6%, positive-predictive value 98.3%, negative-predictive value 98.3% and an accuracy of 96%) [1]. Noh et al [2] showed that abnormality involving nigrosome-1 can be detected at 3T MR imaging with an accuracy of 94.6%. Due to the difficulty in diagnosis of early stage IPD, a loss of the swallow tail sign serves as a useful imaging biomarker to supplement the clinical diagnosis, as seen in our patient.

scholarly journals Voltage-Gated Ca2+ Channels in Dopaminergic Substantia Nigra Neurons: Therapeutic Targets for Neuroprotection in Parkinson's Disease?

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine J. Ortner
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Oxidant Stress ◽  
Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta ◽  
Pacemaker Activity ◽  
Channel Blockers ◽  
Voltage Gated

The loss of dopamine (DA)-producing neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SN) underlies the core motor symptoms of the progressive movement disorder Parkinson's disease (PD). To date, no treatment to prevent or slow SN DA neurodegeneration exists; thus, the identification of the underlying factors contributing to the high vulnerability of these neurons represents the basis for the development of novel therapies. Disrupted Ca2+ homeostasis and mitochondrial dysfunction seem to be key players in the pathophysiology of PD. The autonomous pacemaker activity of SN DA neurons, in combination with low cytosolic Ca2+ buffering, leads to large somatodendritic fluctuations of intracellular Ca2+ levels that are linked to elevated mitochondrial oxidant stress. L-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (LTCCs) contribute to these Ca2+ oscillations in dendrites, and LTCC inhibition was beneficial in cellular and in vivo animal models of PD. However, in a recently completed phase 3 clinical trial, the dihydropyridine (DHP) LTCC inhibitor isradipine failed to slow disease progression in early PD patients, questioning the feasibility of DHPs for PD therapy. Novel evidence also suggests that R- and T-type Ca2+ channels (RTCCs and TTCCs, respectively) represent potential PD drug targets. This short review aims to (re)evaluate the therapeutic potential of LTCC, RTCC, and TTCC inhibition in light of novel preclinical and clinical data and the feasibility of available Ca2+ channel blockers to modify PD disease progression. I also summarize their cell-specific roles for SN DA neuron function and describe how their gating properties allow activity (and thus their contribution to stressful Ca2+ oscillations) during pacemaking.

scholarly journals Parkinson’s disease progression in the substantia nigra: location, location, location

Brain ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (9) ◽  
pp. 2628-2630
Author(s):  
David E Vaillancourt ◽  
Trina Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Spatiotemporal Changes

This scientific commentary refers to ‘Spatiotemporal changes in substantia nigra neuromelanin content in Parkinson’s disease’, by Biondetti et al. (doi:10.1093/brain/awaa216

Preventive treatments to slow substantia nigra damage and Parkinson’s disease progression: A critical perspective review

2020 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 105065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Bjørklund ◽  
Maryam Dadar ◽  
George Anderson ◽  
Salvatore Chirumbolo ◽  
Michael Maes
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Critical Perspective

scholarly journals 123-I ioflupane (Datscan®) presynaptic nigrostriatal imaging in patients with movement disorders

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (spe2) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angel Soriano Castrejón ◽  
Ana María García Vicente ◽  
Montserrat Cortés Romera ◽  
Julia Vaamonde Cano ◽  
Sonia Rodado Marina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Movement Disorder ◽  
Essential Tremor ◽  
Disease Progression ◽  
Movement Disorders ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorders ◽  
Nigrostriatal Pathway

123-I Ioflupane (Datscan®) presynaptic imaging has been shown to have a significant utility in the assessment of patients with movement disorders 123-I Ioflupane SPECT is able to distinguish between Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other forms of parkinsonism without degeneration of the nigrostriatal pathway, including a common movement disorder such as essential tremor, and to assess disease progression in PD and other neurodegenerative disorders involving the substantia nigra.

Hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease – Searching for genetic predictors

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (S 01) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Funke ◽  
A Soehn ◽  
C Schulte ◽  
M Bonin ◽  
C Klein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Genetic Predictors
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