Substantia nigra hyperechogenicity assessed by transcranial sonography is related to neuropsychological impairment in the elderly population.
Transcranial sonography (TCS) is a valuable tool in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, substantia nigra hyperechogenicity (SN+) in TCS has been shown to be also evident in about 8-10% of healthy persons. Neuroimaging studies and slight motor deficits in subjects with SN+ indicate functional impairment of the nigrostriatal system associated with the ultrasound sign. We questioned, whether SN+ may also be associated with neuropsychological deficits and whether there is a relation to other PD premotor markers. Thirty-six subjects with SN+ and 34 control persons (SN-) older than 50 years were investigated. The delayed verbal memory recall (LogII) of subjects with SN+ was significantly reduced compared to the performance of the control group (P=0.02). Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that, besides UPDRS-III (P<0.001) and positive family history for PD (P<0.01), LogII (P<0.05) seems to be independently associated with SN+.
Liepelt
Inga
I
Center of Neurology, Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute of Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler Str. 3, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. inga.liepelt@uni-tuebingen.de
Wendt
Angela
A
Schweitzer
Katherine J
KJ
Wolf
Bjoern
B
Godau
Jana
J
Gaenslen
Alexandra
A
Bruessel
Theresa
T
Berg
Daniela
D
D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D016017:Odds Ratio; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial