title: [Differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes using MRI].
abstract: The differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes is considered one of the most challenging in clinical neurology. Despite published consensus operational criteria for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and the various atypical parkinsonian disorders (APD), such as progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD), the clinical separation of APDs from PD carries a high rate of misdiagnosis. However, the early differentiation between APD and PD, each characterized by a very different natural history, is crucial for determining the prognosis and choosing a treatment strategy. Despite limitations the various modern magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have undoubtedly added to the differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative parkinsonism. In clinical practice conventional MRI with visual assessment of T2 and T1-weighted imaging is a well established method for the exclusion of symptomatic parkinsonism due to other pathologies and may also point to the diagnosis of APD. Furthermore, advances in MRI techniques, such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), have enabled abnormalities in the basal ganglia and infratentorial brain structures in APD to be quantitatively illustrated.
authors.affiliation: Universitätsklinik für Neurologie, Medizinische Universität Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Österreich.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mahlknecht
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schocke
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Seppi
mesh_terms: D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D019578:Multiple System Atrophy / Q000175:diagnosis; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010302:Parkinson Disease, Secondary / Q000175:diagnosis; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013494:Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive / Q000175:diagnosis