Sensitivity and specificity of 99mTc-TRODAT-1 SPECT imaging in differentiating patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease from healthy subjects.
The imaging of dopamine transporter (DAT) with (99m)Tc-TRODAT-1 ([2-[[2-[[[3-(4-chlorophenyl)-8-methyl-8-azabicyclo[3,2,1]oct-2-yl]methyl](2-mercaptoethyl)amino]ethyl]amino]ethanethiolato(3-)-N2,N2',S2,S2']oxo-[1R-(exo-exo)]-(99m)Tc-technetium) and SPECT has been recently proposed to be a valuable and feasible means of assessment of the integrity of dopamine neurons. The purpose of this study was to further investigate the clinical correlations and the age-specific sensitivity and specificity of this new approach in the diagnosis of patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) that manifests in patients >50 y of age.


METHODS
SPECT imaging with (99m)Tc-TRODAT-1 was conducted in 78 consecutive PD patients and in 40 age-matched healthy subjects. The images were obtained 4 h after the intravenous injection of the tracer. The ratios of specific striatal binding to nonspecific occipital binding were calculated. S/O represents the ratio for whole striatal binding, whereas P/O and C/O represent the putamen and caudate nucleus, respectively. Statistical analyses of the sensitivity and specificity of these ratios in different age-specific subgroups were performed. The correlations between these ratios and clinical assessments were also analyzed. The age-related declines in the striatal binding in both patients and controls were given particular focus.


RESULTS
The S/O, C/O, and P/O ratios decreased significantly both contralaterally and ipsilaterally to the dominant symptomatic side in the PD group (P < 0.0001). The mean reduction of binding was found in the order of putamen (contralateral side, -81%; ipsilateral side, -67%) and caudate nucleus (contralateral side, -46%; ipsilateral side, -40%). The sensitivity and specificity of both P/O and S/O ratios were 100% in discriminating PD patients from healthy subjects in the age-specific groups. The binding ratios correlated negatively with the Unified Parkinson's Rating Scale and Hoehn and Yahr (H-Y) staging. Of particular interest, the binding of the striatum contralateral to the asymptomatic side in H-Y stage I patients also decreased significantly. The age-related decline of these ratios was significant in the control group.


CONCLUSIONS
We have demonstrated that (99m)Tc-TRODAT-1 SPECT has a high sensitivity and specificity for measuring the decrement of DAT in PD patients. In addition to its wide availability, we suggest that this new approach may serve as a diagnostic marker for PD.
Movement Disorders Unit, the First Department of Neurology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Medical College, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yi-Hsin
YH
Weng
Tzu-Chen
TC
Yen
Min-Chi
MC
Chen
Pan-Fu
PF
Kao
Kai-Yuan
KY
Tzen
Rou-Shayn
RS
Chen
Shiaw-Pyng
SP
Wey
Gann
G
Ting
Chin-Song
CS
Lu
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*; D014326:Tropanes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*
D015609:Organotechnetium Compounds; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014326:Tropanes; C104196:technetium Tc 99m TRODAT-1