Affiliations: [a]
Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| [b]
Department of Neurology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea | [c]
Department of Nuclear Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Correspondence:
[*]
Correspondence to: Joong-Seok Kim, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, 222, Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul, 06591 Republic of Korea. Tel.: +82 2 2258 6078; Fax: +82 2 599 9686; E-mail: neuronet@catholic.ac.kr.
Abstract: Background:Co-occurrence of β-amyloid (Aβ) pathology has been reported in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and Aβ deposition in the brain may contribute to cognitive decline in patients with PD. Whether striatal dopamine uptake and cognitive status differ with amyloid deposition has been reported in only a few studies. Objective:The purpose of this study was to investigate the association among striatal dopaminergic availability, Aβ-positivity, and motor and cognitive status in early and non-demented PD. Methods:A total of 98 newly-diagnosed, non-medicated, and non-demented patients with PD were included in this study. Cognitive status was assessed using neuropsychological testing. Patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were stratified into two groups: amnestic MCI (aMCI) and non-amnestic MCI (naMCI). Patient motor status was examined using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-N-(3-fluoropropyl)-2beta-carbon ethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl) nortropane (18F-FP-CIT). All patients also underwent 18F-florbetaben (18F-FBB) PET and were divided based on the results into Aβ-positive and Aβ-negative groups. Results:Eighteen patients had Aβ-positivity in 18F-FBB PET and 67 had MCI. Sixteen of 18 with Aβ-positive patients had MCI. The Aβ-positive group had higher frequency of MCI, especially amnestic-type, and lower dopaminergic activities in the left ventral striatum, but not with UPDRS motor score. Conclusion:Amyloid pathology was associated with MCI, especially amnestic-subtype, in early and non-demented PD patients and with low dopaminergic activities in the left ventral striatum. This finding suggests that PD patients with Aβ-positivity have AD-related cognitive pathophysiology in PD and associated impaired dopaminergic availability in the ventral striatum can affect the pathophysiology in various ways.
