Category: Parkinson's Disease: Neuroimaging
Objective: The aim of the study was to compare the metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) uptake in the major salivary glands (MSG) in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) in addition to the heart.
Background: PD and DLB showed various non-motor features. Of these, cardiac sympathetic denervation presented by MIBG scintigraphy is a clinically useful tool for the diagnosis of PD and DLB, and is included in the current diagnostic criteria. Previous studies demonstrated that MIBG uptake in the MSG reduced in PD. Therefore, MIBG uptake in the MSG might be a new radiological marker for PD.
Method: We recruited 78 patients with PD and 13 with DLB and 22 with controls in the present study. We calculated MIBG uptake in the parotid (P/M), submandibular glands (S/M) and heart (H/M) via mediastinum using newly developed quantitative semi-automatic method for head and chest planar images in the early and delayed phases. We also evaluated the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity between PD, DLB and controls, using receiver operating characteristics curve.
Results: MIBG uptake in the parotid, submandibular glands and heart both in patients with PD and DLB significantly reduced compared with controls (parotid: p < 0.001, submandibular: p < 0.001 and heart: p < 0.001). By contrast, MIBG uptake in the MSG and heart showed equivalent between PD and DLB. Between PD and controls in the sensitivity and specificity for the delayed phase, 84.1/54.5% (AUC = 0.745) in the P/M, 68.2/84.0% (AUC = 0.786) in the S/M and 95.5/78.2% (AUC = 0.912), respectively. Between DLB and controls in the sensitivity and specificity for the delayed phase, 84.1/61.5% (AUC = 0.750) in the P/M, 61.4/92.3% (AUC = 0.813) in the S/M and 90.9/92.3% (AUC = 0.958), respectively.
Conclusion: Both PD and DLB showed the sympathetic denervation in the MSG as well as in the heart, and higher sensitivity in the parotid glands and specificity in the submandibular glands.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
J. Ebina, S. Mizumura, H. Morioka, M. Shibukawa, J. Nagasawa, M. Yanagihashi, T. Hirayama, N. Ishii, Y. Kobayashi, A. Inaba, S. Orimo, O. Kano. MIBG Uptake in the Major Salivary Glands in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2024; 39 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/mibg-uptake-in-the-major-salivary-glands-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-and-dementia-with-lewy-bodies/. Accessed October 3, 2026.« Back to 2024 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/mibg-uptake-in-the-major-salivary-glands-in-patients-with-parkinsons-disease-and-dementia-with-lewy-bodies/