Objective: We investigated characteristics of clinical and cerebral glucose metabolic abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease (PD) with atrophy in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM).

Background: Cholinergic dysfunction is associated with cognitive dysfunction in PD [1]. Clarifying the clinical characteristics of PD with atrophy in the NBM, the largest cholinergic nucleus in the brain, may help to predict risks for cognitive decline [2],[3].

Method: We studied 56 PD patients without dementia and 13 healthy controls (HCs). Patients were divided into two groups by the NBM voxel value (cutoff value; mean voxel value – 1.5 SD in HCs). We performed comparisons of motor and non-motor symptoms between patients with and without NBM atrophy. Regional glucose metabolic abnormalities in patient groups were analyzed in comparison with those in HCs.

Results: Twenty patients were classified as PD with NBM atrophy and 36 patients were classified as PD without NBM atrophy. PD patients with NBM atrophy showed severe motor impairments, hyposmia, visuoperceptual dysfunction, anxiety, and apathy compared to those without NBM atrophy (p < 0.05). PD patients with NBM atrophy demonstrated significantly decreased glucose metabolism in parietal and occipital cortices than those in HCs (FWE corrected, p < 0.05, k=0). The NBM volume in PD patients was significantly correlated with motor (p < 0.01), olfactory (p < 0.01), visuospatial (p < 0.01) functions and anxiety/apathy (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the volume of NBM would be a simple marker of disease progression and a cost-effective tool for predicting early dementia conversion in PD. The pathological change of the NBM-related cholinergic system could be associated with motor and non-motor symptoms in PD without dementia.

References: [1] Gratwicke J, Jahanshahi M, Foltynie T. Parkinson’s disease dementia: a neural networks perspective. Brain. 2015; 138: 1454-76. [2] Ray NJ, Bradburn S, Murgatroyd C, Toseeb U, Mir P, Kountouriotis GK, et al. In vivo cholinergic basal forebrain atrophy predicts cognitive decline in de novo Parkinson’s disease. Brain. 2018; 141: 165-76. [3] Schulz J, Pagano G, Fernández Bonfante JA, Wilson H, Politis M. Nucleus basalis of Meynert degeneration precedes and predicts cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease. Brain. 2018; 141: 1501-16.

« Back to 2019 International Congress

MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/characteristics-of-the-clinical-and-cerebral-metabolism-in-parkinsons-disease-with-atrophy-in-nucleus-basalis-of-meynert/