title: The presymptomatic period in a patient with idiopathic parkinsonism.
abstract: A 68-year-old, normal female volunteer was scanned by positron emission tomography (PET) with [(18)F]6-L-fluorodopa (FD). Striatal FD uptake was in the high normal range. Subsequently, she developed parkinsonism 3.7 years after the scan. A repeat FD PET scan revealed a significant reduction of FD uptake by 20% over the 5.2 year interval. Our observations suggest a relatively short presymptomatic period with fast initial losses of nigral neurons in idiopathic parkinsonism.
authors.affiliation: Neurodegenerative Disorders Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shinotoh
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Vingerhoets
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schulzer
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Snow