title: Substantia nigra echogenicity in Parkinson's disease: relation to serum iron and C-reactive protein.
abstract: In Parkinson's disease (PD), substantia nigra hyperechogenicity (SN-h) has been related to both, local iron accumulation and microglia activation. We analysed its relationship in PD patients with serum iron (n = 31) and C-reactive protein (CRP; n = 193). SN-h correlated with lower CRP and iron levels. Also, patients with a first-degree relative with PD had lower iron levels. Microglia activation, if reflected by SN-h, may be therefore unrelated to serum CRP. Findings support the idea that SN-h indicates inherited alteration of iron metabolism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Rostock, Gehlsheimer Str. 20, 18147 Rostock, Germany. uwe.walter@med.uni-rostock.de
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.forename: Rike
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Witt
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wolters
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wittstock
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Benecke
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D017585:Ultrasonography, Doppler, Transcranial
chemical_list: D002097:C-Reactive Protein; D007501:Iron