[sup 123 I] beta-CIT/SPECT imaging demonstrates bilateral loss of dopamine transporters in hemi-Parkinson's disease

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Article abstract-We have used in vivo single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the dopamine transporter with 2 beta-carboxymethoxy-3 beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([sup 123 I] beta-CIT) to investigate striatal dopamine transporter loss in patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD). Striatal uptake of [sup 123 I] beta-CIT was compared in eight early-PD patients with exclusively hemiparkinsonism and eight age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. [sup 123 I] beta-CIT striatal uptake was reduced by approximately 53% contralateral and by 38% ipsilateral to the clinically symptomatic side in the hemi-PD patients, compared with the mean striatal uptake in age- and sex-matched healthy subjects. The relative reduction in [sup 123 I] beta-CIT uptake in the hemi-PD patients was greater in the putamen than in the caudate. These data demonstrate that SPECT imaging of the dopamine transporter with [sup 123 I] beta-CIT can identify patients with PD at the onset of motor symptoms and suggest that this technique also may be useful in identifying individuals with developing dopaminergic pathology before onset of motor symptoms. NEUROLOGY 1996;46: 231-237