Objective: Previously, the loss of nigral hyperintensity on 3 Tesla susceptibility-weighted MR imaging (3T-SWI) in patients with PD has been reported. In this study, the status of nigral hyperintensity was examined in patients with VP.

Background: Vascular parkinsonism (VP) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) may have similar presentations, although the pathological bases of these two conditions are different.

Methods: From November 2013 to November 2017, consecutive patients with vascular parkinsonism were included, and age-/sex-matched PD patients and healthy control subjects were compared. Diagnoses were made based on clinical follow-up and 123I-FP-CIT SPECT. Two blinded readers assessed the nigral hyperintensity on 3T-SWI.

Results: The study included 46 VP patients, 46 PD patients, and 34 control subjects. VP patients showed more frequent lacunes and progressed white matter changes on MRI compared to PD patients and control subjects. The nigral hyperintensity was more frequently found in VP patients than in PD patients (82.6% vs. 21.7%, OR 19.870, P<0.001), and comparable to control subjects. (82.6% vs. 82.4%, OR 1.309, P=0.683)

Conclusions: We could find that the nigral hyperintensity on 3T-SWI were more frequently preserved in VP patients than in PD patients. Our findings suggest that the presence or absence of nigral hyperintensity could help in differentiating VP from PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/the-nigral-hyperintensity-on-3-tesla-susceptibility-weighted-mri-in-patients-with-vascular-parkinsonism/