title: Clinical utility of dopamine transporter single photon emission CT (DaT-SPECT) with (123I) ioflupane in diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes.
abstract: The diagnosis of movement disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor is determined through clinical assessment. The difficulty with diagnosis of early PD has been highlighted in several recent clinical trials. Studies have suggested relatively high clinical diagnostic error rates for PD and essential tremor. This review was undertaken to clarify the utility of DaT-SPECT imaging with ((123)I)ioflupane (DaTSCAN or DaTscan or ((123)I)FP-CIT) in assisting practitioners in their clinical decision making by visualising the dopamine transporter in parkinsonian cases. In some patients with suspected parkinsonian syndromes, SPECT imaging with ((123)I)ioflupane is useful to assist in the diagnosis and to help guide prognosis and treatment decisions, including avoiding medications that are unlikely to provide benefit. Clinicians ordering ((123)I)ioflupane SPECT should be aware of its limitations and pitfalls and should order scans when there is diagnostic uncertainty or when the scan will be helpful in clinical decision making.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurology, National Parkinson's Foundation International Centre of Excellence, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Nottingham, , Nottingham, UK.
authors.forename: Nin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bajaj
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hauser
authors.forename: Igor D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Grachev
mesh_terms: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D020329:Essential Tremor / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D009460:Neurologic Examination; D009662:Nortropanes; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D035501:Uncertainty
chemical_list: D000978:Antiparkinson Agents; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D009662:Nortropanes; C519528:ioflupane
keywords: Movement Disorders; Parkinson's Disease; Tremor