Imaging Parkinsonian Pathology in Substantia Nigra with MRI

Journal Article · Sun Apr 15 04:00:00 EDT 2018 · Current Radiology Reports

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/S40134-018-0272-X· OSTI ID:22876197

Huddleston, Daniel E. ^[1]; Langley, Jason ^[2]; Dusek, Petr ^[3]; He, Naying ^[4]; Faraco, Carlos C. ^[5]; Crosson, Bruce; Factor, Stewart ^[1]

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1. Emory University, Department of Neurology (United States)
2. University of California Riverside, Center for Advanced Neuroimaging (United States)
3. Charles University, 1st Faculty of Medicine and General University Hospital in Prague, Department of Neurology and Center of Clinical Neuroscience (Czech Republic)
4. Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Ruijin Hospital (China)
5. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science (United States)

Purpose of Review: The substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and its projection to the striatum undergo profound degeneration in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Literature on imaging PD-related changes in the nigrostriatal system using iron-sensitive and diffusion-sensitive MRI contrasts has been contentious, with both negative and positive results reported in each contrast. These incompatible findings may be due to the inaccurate placement of regions of interest for the SNc. Recent Findings: Histologically, SNc is characterized by the presence of melanized dopamine neurons, whereas the substantia nigra pars reticulata is characterized by high iron content. Despite this histology, previous studies have frequently relied upon iron-sensitive MRI contrast when segmenting the SNc. This is also problematic since recent work found iron-sensitive and neuromelanin-sensitive contrasts are largely non-overlapping in substantia nigra. Since neuromelanin-sensitive MRI contrast colocalizes with the melanized dopamine neurons of the SNc upon radiologic–histologic correlation, the use of neuromelanin-sensitive MRI will allow for accurate localization of SNc and better capture parkinsonian pathobiology than iron-sensitive MRI. Summary: This article outlines iron-sensitive and diffusion-sensitive MRI contrasts, and provides an overview of neuromelanin-sensitive MRI techniques. The application of these techniques to image parkinsonian pathobiology in substantia nigra is then reviewed, with a focus on neuromelanin-sensitive imaging methods for the accurate and reproducible study of PD-related changes in SNc. These advances may help resolve current controversies surrounding MRI investigations of substantia nigra in PD and related disorders.

• OSTI ID: 22876197
• Journal Information: Current Radiology Reports, Journal Name: Current Radiology Reports Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 6; ISSN 2167-4825
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
DISEASES
DOPAMINE
HISTOLOGY
IMAGES
IRON
NERVE CELLS
NMR IMAGING
PATHOLOGY