title: Striatal dopamine transporter abnormalities in patients with essential tremor.
abstract: METHODS
  We used (123)I-Ioflupane SPECT to study 32 unrelated patients with essential tremor (16 with positive familial history), 47 sporadic tremor dominant patients with Parkinson's disease and 31 healthy control subjects. Discriminant analysis was used to categorize healthy subjects and patients with Parkinson's disease or essential tremor.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with essential tremor had higher uptake values (50% putamen and 21% caudate, P<0.001) compared to those with Parkinson's disease but lower than healthy subjects (15% putamen and 21% caudate, P<0.05). Discriminant analysis classified seven essential tremor patients in the healthy subjects cohort (22%) and two as Parkinson's disease (6%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results show that some essential tremor patients may present mild abnormalities of striatal dopamine transporters and a typical Parkinson's disease-like pattern of uptake loss. These findings suggest a link between the two disorders.
authors.affiliation: Parkinson Institute, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, Milan, Italy. iuisaias@yahoo.it
authors.forename: Ioannis U
authors.initials: IU
authors.lastname: Isaias
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Canesi
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Benti
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gerundini
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cilia
authors.forename: Gianni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pezzoli
authors.forename: Angelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Antonini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008297:Male; D009662:Nortropanes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D009662:Nortropanes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; C519528:ioflupane