Objective: To investigate the presence of a disease-related gender effect on the spontaneous neuronal activity within the sensori-motor network (SMN) in early untreated Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, using the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) and its correlation with baseline and longitudinal clinical features.

Background: Epidemiological studies have revealed that male sex is a prominent risk factor for developing PD. Contrariwise, as the disease progresses, female PD patients seem to be at higher risk to develop motor complications. Compelling evidence suggest that a gender-specific pattern within the nigro-striatal dopaminergic pathway may underlie these differences. Previous imaging studies have suggested the presence of a gender effect on brain morphology and functional connectivity in healthy subjects.

Methods: Fifty-six de novo PD patients (30/26 males/female) and 30 (15/15 males/females) matched healthy controls (HCs) were enrolled in the study. Whole brain structural and functional imaging was performed on a 3T GE MR scanner. Statistical analysis of functional data was completed using BrainVoyager QX software. Multivariate linear regression was used to investigate whether functional imaging data at baseline were predictors of motor impairment over a 2-years follow-up period.

Results: Compared with female PD patients and HC, male PD patients showed an increased fALFF connectivity within the SMN in the spectral slow-5 band. No fALFF differences were detected between male and female HCs and between female PD patients and HCs. Spectral functional abnormalities within the SMN at baseline showed to be an independent predictor of motor severity overtime in the PD group.

Conclusions: Our findings revealed the presence of a PD-related sex-specific spectral distribution of the resting-state connectivity within the SMN, even in the early stage of the disease. We hypothesize that this specific pattern may be related to the presence of a dichotomic nigro-striatal dopaminergic pathway between genders. As the slow-5 spectral band has already shown to present a levodopa-selective sensitivity in PD patients, we might speculate that it may be considered as a potential biomarker to predict PD progression and development of motor complications overtime.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/gender-specific-pattern-of-sensori-motor-network-connectivity-in-early-untreated-parkinsons-disease-patients/