title: Nigrostriatal dopamine terminal imaging with dopamine transporter SPECT: an update.
abstract: This article gives an update on nigrostriatal dopamine terminal imaging, with emphasis on SPECT performed with the presynaptic dopamine transporter (DAT) ligand (123)I-FP-CIT. The paper covers the rational use of this technique in the diagnostic work-up of patients with known or suspected parkinsonian syndromes. In detail, it addresses the impact of the method for the proof or exclusion of neurodegenerative parkinsonism, for its early and preclinical diagnosis, and for the evaluation of disease progression. The importance of normal DAT binding for differentiating symptomatic parkinsonism and relevant tremor syndromes from neurodegeneration is highlighted. Particularly emphasized is the role of DAT SPECT for diagnosing Lewy body dementia and its separation from Alzheimer dementia. Finally, some remarks deal with the economic aspects of the use of these imaging techniques in the clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Municipal Hospital Karlsruhe, Inc, Karlsruhe, Germany. klaus.tatsch@klinikum-karlsruhe.de
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tatsch
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Poepperl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Lewy body dementia; dopamine transporter; parkinsonian syndromes; primary and secondary parkinsonism; single-photon emission computed tomography; tremor syndromes