NIGRO-STRIATAL DEGENERATION DEMONSTRATED IN PARKINSONIAN-PATIENTS WITH IODINE-123-BETA-CIT SPECT - METHODS OF QUANTITATION

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images were obtaine d in 3 healthy volunteers and 7 parkinsonian patients 22 h after injec tion of 120 MBq iodine-123-beta-CIT. There was a high radioactivity in the striatal region against a uniform background in the volunteers bu t pronouncedly reduced striatal activity in the patients. Total striat al activity in each hemisphere of each individual was calculated as th e sum of all activity in excess of the background in all reconstructed images. There was a high correlation between reduction of striatal ac tivity and motor scores in the unified rating scale for parkinsonism ( URSP) for the patients. A method developed for calculation of the acti vity distribution along the length axis of the striatum indicated a mo re pronounced degeneration in the putamen compared with the caudate nu cleus in the patients. Iodine-123-beta-CIT SPECT appears to be a good quantitative method for nigro-striatal degeneration in parkinsonian pa tients.