title: Central and peripheral dopamine transporter reduction in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Previous reports showed the reduction of dopamine transporter immunoreactivity in peripheral blood lymphocytes in Parkinson's disease. In this work, we sought to investigate the possible correlation between central and peripheral dopamine transporter immunoreactivity values in a group of 11 drug-naive patients with Parkinson's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Densitometric measurements of dopamine transporter immunoreactivity in peripheral blood lymphocytes was accomplished as described recently, using a monoclonal antidopamine transporter antibody. Dopamine transporter binding in the caudate and putamen nuclei was measured by means of (123)I-fluopane single-photon emission computed tomography in the same patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results failed to show any significant correlation between dopamine transporter immunoreactivity in peripheral blood lymphocytes and the caudate or putamen dopamine transporter binding. Moreover, dopamine transporter immunoreactivity in peripheral blood lymphocytes was reduced also in the single patient with normal striatal dopamine transporter binding.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate the lack of correlation between central and peripheral dopamine transporter reduction in Parkinson's disease, using the methodologies applied herein. They therefore suggest that the two phenomena are unlikely to share a common pathogenetic mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, Università di Roma 'Sapienza', Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Buttarelli
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Capriotti
authors.forename: Clelia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pellicano
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prosperi
authors.forename: Annapia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Circella
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Festa
authors.forename: Morena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovannelli
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tofani
authors.forename: Francesco E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Pontieri
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scopinaro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011699:Putamen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods; D014326:Tropanes
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D007457:Iodine Radioisotopes; D014326:Tropanes; C087552:2-carbomethoxy-8-(3-fluoropropyl)-3-(4-iodophenyl)tropane