[Clinical utility of (18)F-DOPA-PET in movement disorders. A systematic review].
BACKGROUND
(18)F-fluorodopa ((18)F-DOPA) is a functional tracer of presynaptic dopaminergic neuron terminations in the nigrostriatal system. This review is aimed to assess the efficacy of (18)F-DOPA-PET in the diagnosis and evaluation of the progression of Parkinson's Disease (PD) and in the differential diagnosis with other Parkinsonism Syndromes.


METHODS
A review was made of the literature by searching six databases and selecting the most relevant articles according to strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study data were systematically extracted and included in evidence tables.


RESULTS
Of the 1478 registries recovered through the search of the literature, 48 studies were extracted. Of these, only 13 were included in the systematic review. It was observed in all of them that PD is manifested by a lower striatal uptake of (18)F-DOPA, especially in the putamen with posterior predominance. Prospective studies have shown that there is loss of uptake with disease progression. One article described regional differences in (18)F-DOPA striatal pattern between PD, multisystem atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Cognitive impairment in PD seems to be related with (18)F-DOPA abnormal uptake in some regions of frontal cortex and caudate nucleus.


CONCLUSIONS
(18)F-DOPA-PET seems to be useful for the diagnosis and evaluation of PD progression. However, the evidence is not conclusive regarding its utility in the differential diagnosis with other Parkinsonism Syndromes and in the differentiation between ex novo and advanced PD.
Puñal-Riobóo
J
J
Agencia de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias de Galicia (avalia-t), Consellería de Sanidade, Xunta de Galicia, Santiago de Compostela, La Coruña, España.
Serena-Puig
A
A
Varela-Lema
L
L
Alvarez-Páez
A M
AM
Ruano-Ravina
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000523:psychology; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011699:Putamen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012042:Registries
D005462:Fluorine Radioisotopes; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; C043437:fluorodopa F 18; D004295:Dihydroxyphenylalanine