Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the nuclear medicine images of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients and to extract findings that might help discrimination.
Background: It is often challenging to differentiate DLB from PD in the early stages because both diseases are caused by Lewy bodies and present similar symptoms. However, the prognosis and treatment approach are different between DLB and PD, and a discrimination method should be established.
Method: We retrospectively collected the image data of patients who were admitted to our hospital and diagnosed with DLB or PD from November 2015 to August 2019. All included patients underwent both 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) myocardial scintigraphy and 123I-ioflupane single-photon emission computed tomography (123I-FP-CIT SPECT). Patients whose images were taken more than a year before the hospitalization were excluded because they may have been examined before the onset of the diseases. The early and delayed heart-to-mediastinum (H/M) ratios and washout rate (WR) of 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy were evaluated. Regarding 123I-FP-CIT SPECT, we calculated the specific binding ratio (SBR) average, difference, and asymmetry index of the right and left sides. These values were statistically compared between the two groups. We also performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. This study was approved by the ethics committee for medical research at our hospital.
Results: Image data of 20 DLB patients and 43 PD patients were collected. The significant differences were found only in the SBR average (p = 0.0158) and difference (p = 0.0335) of the right and left sides. The areas under the curve (AUC) were 0.6983 and 0.6674, respectively. The AUC of the value obtained by multiplying the difference by the average was 0.7215.
Conclusion: The SBR average and difference of the right and left sides in 123I-FP-CIT SPECT possibly differentiate DLB from PD.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Y. Asahara, S. Miyagawa, M. Suzuki. Comparison of 123I-MIBG myocardial scintigraphy and 123I-FP-CIT SPECT between dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/comparison-of-123i-mibg-myocardial-scintigraphy-and-123i-fp-cit-spect-between-dementia-with-lewy-bodies-and-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/comparison-of-123i-mibg-myocardial-scintigraphy-and-123i-fp-cit-spect-between-dementia-with-lewy-bodies-and-parkinsons-disease/