Clinical utility of DaTscan™ imaging in the evaluation of patients with parkinsonism: a US perspective.
Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with Ioflupane I123 injection (DaTscan™) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2011 for striatal dopamine transporter visualization to assist in the evaluation of adult patients with suspected parkinsonian syndromes. While brain SPECT imaging using DaTscan is a covered service under Medicare policy, there is a lack of consensus on its role in routine clinical practice in the US. Areas covered: To address this issue, an expert group of US-based movement disorders neurologists convened to discuss the clinical utility of DaTscan in movement disorders practices within the US. The group identified and discussed routine clinical scenarios where imaging with DaTscan can provide useful information that may impact management and/or clarify clinical diagnoses. This paper summarizes a consensus reached by the expert group at this meeting. Expert commentary: The major utility of DaTscan imaging is the assistance it provides in distinguishing between nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration and non-nigrostriatal degeneration in patients displaying equivocal signs and symptoms of parkinsonism.
a Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center of Boca Raton , FL , USA.
Stuart H
SH
Isaacson
b Saint Luke's Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute , Kansas City , MO , USA.
Stanley
S
Fisher
c Hackensack University Medical Center, Movement Disorders Center , Hackensack , NJ , USA.
Fiona
F
Gupta
d Irvine Health Movement Disorders Program , University of California , Irvine , CA , USA.
Neal
N
Hermanowicz
e Thomas Jefferson University, Sidney Kimmel Medical College , Philadelphia , PA , USA.
Daniel E
DE
Kremens
f University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine , Los Angeles , CA , USA.
Mark F
MF
Lew
g Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders , New Haven , CT , USA.
Kenneth
K
Marek
h University of Kansas Medical Center , Kansas City , KS , USA.
Rajesh
R
Pahwa
g Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders , New Haven , CT , USA.
David S
DS
Russell
g Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders , New Haven , CT , USA.
John
J
Seibyl
D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D006801:Humans; D009662:Nortropanes; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods*
D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D009662:Nortropanes; C519528:ioflupane
DaTscan; Dopamine transporter; SPECT; diagnosis; imaging; parkinson’s disease; treatment