Functional imaging in Parkinson's disease

This article reviews the applications of functional neuroimaging with posit ron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomograph y (SPECT) to the diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). PET m easurements with [F-18]deoxyglucose to measure glucose metabolism or with v arious markers of the pre- and postsynaptic dopamine systems may distinguis h idiopathic PD from other conditions presenting with an akinetic-rigid sta te. Moreover, PET has been used to gain new insights into mechanisms of cel l death and the role of heredity in Parkinson's disease. Finally, we discus s the use of functional neuroimaging to study the role of the basal ganglia in movement and cognition in PD.