INCREASED BASAL GANGLIA IRON IN STRIATONIGRAL DEGENERATION - IN-VIVO ESTIMATION WITH MAGNETIC-RESONANCE

Background: As many as 20% Of individuals with the clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) do not have the characteristic neuropathol ogic features of PD at post mortem. The striatonigral degeneration (SN D) subtype of multiple system atrophy is one of the categories of path ology which may be incorrectly diagnosed as PD on the basis of clinica l presentation, SND may be associated with increased iron deposition i n the putamen which can be detected with magnetic resonance imaging. M ethods: We have estimated regional brain iron content in a patient wit h probable SND, using a novel imaging method developed In our laborato ry, and have compared the results in this patient to those which we ha ve previously reported in patients with PD and in age-matched controls , Results: Mie observed that putamenal iron content was increased in o ur SND patient, beyond the 95% confidence limit for inclusion in the P D group, even when considering clinical severity, In contrast, pallida l and thalamic iron were within the PD range, Conclusions: The demonst ration of increased putamenal iron content may be a useful adjunctive investigative procedure in patients with suspected SND.