Session Information
Date: Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Session Title: Neuroimaging
Session Time: 1:15pm-2:45pm
Location: Les Muses Terrace, Level 3
Objective: To assess whether changes in brain capillary function measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be detected in patients with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), a condition that is a prodromal phenotype of Parkinson’s disease and Dementia with Lewy bodies.
Background: There is growing evidence that capillary dysfunction (changes in capillary morphology or blood rheology) may play a role in the etiology of some stroke subtypes but also in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease [1]. However, the presence of capillary dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and in patients at high risk of PD has not been investigated yet.
Method: Twenty polysomnography confirmed RBD patients with no evidence of parkinsonism and/or cognitive impairment, and 25 age-matched healthy controls were assessed with perfusion MRI to measure microvascular cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), mean transit time (MTT), capillary transit time heterogeneity (CTH), and predicted tissue oxygen tension (PtO2) according to our model [2].
Results: CBF was reduced in RBD patients primarily in the frontal regions (p<0.05), while the microvascular flow in terms of elevated MTT and CTH was additionally disturbed in temporoparietal regions, precuneus and occipital lobes (p<0.05). These altered microvascular flows predict a significantly lowered tissue oxygen tension compared to controls according to the model. Low PtO2 was found throughout cortex (p<0.05) with a highly significant cluster in the parietal lobe (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that changes in brain microvascular cerebral blood flow are present in RBD patients. These changes could contribute to the development of neurodegenerative processes in these patients and potentially provide a predictive biomarker for disease progression to parkinsonism and/or cognitive impairment.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
S. Eskildsen, A. Iranzo, M. Stokholm, K. Stær, K. østergaard, M. Eroles, M. Otto, K. Svendsen, A. Pla, D. Vilas, P. Borghammer, J. Santamaria, A. Møller, C. Gaig, D. Brooks, E. Tolosa, L. østergaard, N. Pavese. Occurrence of brain capillary dysfunction in patients with REM sleep behavior disorder [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2019; 34 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/occurrence-of-brain-capillary-dysfunction-in-patients-with-rem-sleep-behavior-disorder/. Accessed June 14, 2025.« Back to 2019 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/occurrence-of-brain-capillary-dysfunction-in-patients-with-rem-sleep-behavior-disorder/