title: Cardiac sympathetic denervation is not related to nigrostriatal degeneration in Parkinson's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between myocardial sympathetic degeneration and nigrostriatal impairment in patients affected by Parkinson's disease (PD) by means of (123)I-metaiodobenzylguanidine ((123)I MIBG) scintigraphy and N-(3-fluoropropyl)-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-[(123)I]iodophenyl)nortropane ((123)I FP-CIT) scintigraphy.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study involved 37 patients with clinical diagnosis of PD (22 males and 15 females, mean age 62 years (±10), evaluated with (123)I FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) followed by (123)I MIBG scintigraphy within 20 (±3) days. Early and delayed anterior chest images were acquired and the heart/mediastinum ratio (H/M ratio) was calculated. Furthermore, the population has been divided on the basis of the main clinical pattern to investigate the possible role of a tremor-dominant or an akinetic-dominant phenotype in this comparison.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In PD population, there were no statistical relationships between early and delayed (123)I MIBG cardiac and (123)I FP-CIT striatal uptake in contralateral caudate (P > 0.05) and in contralateral putamen (P > 0.05) to the side mainly affected; no statistically significant relationships have been found at any level when considering ipsilateral striatum. We did not find statistically significant relationships when considering the single PD phenotypes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study suggest that cardiac sympathetic system and nigrostriatal system are differently affected in PD. In particular, the sympathetic neurodegeneration rate is not related to nigrostriatal degeneration rate and vice versa in our series as detectable scintigraphically.
authors: Department of Biopathology and Diagnostic Imaging, University Hospital Tor Vergata, Viale Oxford 81, 00173 Rome, Italy. agostino.chiaravalloti@gmail.com
authors: Agostino
authors: A
authors: Chiaravalloti
authors: Alessandro
authors: A
authors: Stefani
authors: Daniele
authors: D
authors: Di Biagio
authors: Mariangela
authors: M
authors: Pierantozzi
authors: Mario
authors: M
authors: Tavolozza
authors: Barbara
authors: B
authors: Di Pietro
authors: Paolo
authors: P
authors: Stanzione
authors: Orazio
authors: O
authors: Schillaci
mesh_terms: D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000294:innervation*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D013562:Sympathectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*