Imaging to Detect Premotor Parkinson Disease

Ala53Thr (A53T; 209G→A) is a highly penetrant point mutation in the gene for alpha-synuclein (SNCA) found in some patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Hypothesized that carriers of the A53T SNCA mutation may have detectable changes in the serotonergic neurotransmitter system prior to diagnosis of PD, investigators conducted a cross-sectional international study of A53T SNCA mutation carriers seen at expert movement centers. Patients with idiopathic PD and healthy controls were also recruited for comparison. A53T carriers underwent a week-long recording of motor function to assess PD status. Serotonergic abnormalities were assessed using [¹¹C]DASB positron emission tomography, which quantifies serotonin transporter density. Using the imagin…