title: Smoking in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: preliminary striatal DaT-SPECT findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether cigarette smoking interferes with dopaminergic transmission in current- and never-smoking patients with Parkinson's disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Striatal [123I]FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography was performed in 67 patients with Parkinson's disease (35 women and 32 men aging 60.8 ± 10.1 years and staging 1.76 ± 0.5 on the Hoehn and Yahr scale). At study time, there were 13 current-smokers and 54 never-smokers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Current-smokers showed a significantly lower putamen/occipital [123I]FP-CIT ratio and a non-significant trend to a lower caudate/occipital [123I]FP-CIT ratio uptake. Current-smokers were also characterized by a lower off UPDRS-III motor score. A logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, disease duration, Hoehn and Yahr staging, and medication indicated a significant lower [123I]FP-CIT uptake not only in the putamen (odds ratio, 0.1; 95% confidence interval, 0.01 to 0.65; P = 0.02) but also in the caudate (odds ratio, 0.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.04 to 0.71; P = 0.015) as well as a lower UPDRS-III motor score (odds ratio, 0.9; 95% confidence interval, 0.81 to 0.99; P = 0.04) in current-smokers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The lower [123I]FP-CIT uptake together with the lower UPDRS-III motor score observed in our current-smokers patients with Parkinson's disease (even taking into account variables that are probably expression of dopaminergic neuron decline and treatment) would support an effect of smoking on dopaminergic synaptic mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Gigante
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy. giovanni.defazio@uniba.it.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Defazio
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Unit - D.I.M., "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Niccoli Asabella
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Superbo
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Unit - D.I.M., "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liuzzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Iliceto
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience and Sense Organs, "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Livrea
authors.affiliation: Nuclear Medicine Unit - D.I.M., "Aldo Moro" University of Bari, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rubini
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011699:Putamen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014326:Tropanes
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014326:Tropanes; C087552:2-carbomethoxy-8-(3-fluoropropyl)-3-(4-iodophenyl)tropane
keywords: Parkinson's disease; [123I]FP-CIT SPECT; caudate nucleus; cigarette smoking; dopamine transporter; putamen