Imaging modalities in differential diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease: opportunities and challenges

Abstract

Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis is yet largely based on the related clinical aspects. However, genetics, biomarkers, and neuroimaging studies have demonstrated a confirming role in the diagnosis, and future developments might be used in a pre-symptomatic phase of the disease. Main text This review provides an update on the current applications of neuroimaging modalities for PD diagnosis. A literature search was performed to find published studies that were involved on the application of different imaging modalities for PD diagnosis. An organized search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar was performed based on MeSH keywords and suitable synonyms. Two researchers (TM and JPI) independently and separately performed the literature search. Our search strategy in each database was done by the following terms: ((Parkinson [Title/Abstract]) AND ((“Parkinsonian syndromes ”[Mesh]) OR Parkinsonism [Title/Abstract])) AND ((PET [Title/Abstract]) OR “SPECT”[Mesh]) OR ((Functional imaging, Transcranial sonography [Title/Abstract]) OR “Magnetic resonance spectroscopy ”[Mesh]). Database search had no limitation in time, and our last update of search was in February 2021. To have a comprehensive search and to find possible relevant articles, a manual search was conducted on the reference list of the articles and limited to those published in English. Conclusion Early diagnosis of PD could be vital for early management and adequate neuroprotection. Recent neuroimaging modalities such as SPECT and PET imaging using radiolabeled tracers, MRI, and CT are used to discover the disease. By the modalities, it is possible to early diagnose dopaminergic degeneration and also to differentiate PD from others parkinsonian syndromes, to monitor the natural progression of the disease and the effect of neuroprotective treatments on the progression. In this regard, functional imaging techniques have provided critical insights and roles on PD.

Brain structure ages—A new biomarker for multi‐disease classification

“…Third, PD pathology seems to be closest to healthy people. Indeed, although T1 weighted MRI presents high contrast of grey/white matter, poor contrast may be found in structures related to PD (e.g., subthalamic nuclei) (Mortezazadeh et al, 2021). This may explain the proximity of this class with CN class and the poor performance in PD detection (see Table 5).…”

A Survey on AI-based Parkinson Disease Detection: Taxonomy, Case Study, and Research Challenges

“…Collecting the longitudinal data that is important for early diagnosis that is used to track PD progression, which is a cumbersome task [21]. Also, to gather diverse MRI datasets and then segmenting them and applying model architectures in order to ensure the quality, performance and accuracy of results would require collaborations between doctors, clinical experts, data scientists and researchers, which is a crucial and more challenging task [38].…”

Development and Validation of a Reversed-Phase HPLC Method with UV Detection for the Determination of L-Dopa in Vicia faba L. Broad Beans

“…Broad bean ( Vicia faba L.) has been identified as a rich source of L-Dopa or levodopa (LD), a dopamine precursor and first-line treatment for Parkinson’s disease (PD) symptoms, usually characterized by slowness of movement (bradykinesia), tremor at rest, muscle rigidity, and postural fragility [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. PD affects nerve cells and their function in producing the neurotransmitter dopamine.…”