Category: Parkinson's Disease: Neuroimaging
Objective: This study is aimed at elucidating the changes of cognitive connectivity according to orthostatic stress in early Parkinson’s disease (PD).
Background: 18F-Florbetaben tracer can be utilized to evaluate the metabolic activity and amyloid accumulation in brain when measured in early- and late-phase, respectively. The metabolism of neural substrates could be estimated as a network and it might be an important factor in preserving cognition. Orthostatic hypotension (OH) might play an indirect moderating role in cognition, and its latent influence could modify the inherent cognitive network.
Method: One hundred and four early-stage PD were evaluated with head-up tilt-test and 18F-Florbetaben positron emission tomography (PET). Cognition was evaluated with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery that gauged attention/working memory, executive, memory, visuospatial and language functions. Early-phase images of PET were normalized to obtain standardized uptake value ratios of pre-specified subregions, relevant to cognitive domains. Caudate was referenced and paired to the pre-specified regions. The correlations between standardized uptake value ratios of regions were assessed first and then stratified by OH.
Results: The mean age was 69.9 ± 8.4 years, and 41 (39.4%) were female. Disease duration was 1.4 ± 1.2 years. Twenty-two (21.2%) had OH. Nineteen patients (18.3%) were positive for amyloid-? accumulation on visual analysis.[table1] Moderate correlations between caudate and pre-specified subregions were observed (Spearman partial correlation coefficient, rho, range [0.331, 0.545]). Cognition did not differ, but the patterns of correlations altered when the disease was stratified by orthostatic stress: OH reduced the significant links between neural substrates but its bonds tightened. [figure1]
Conclusion: Cognition in early PD responds to hemodynamic stress by adapting its neural connections between relevant regions of cognitive functions.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
S-W. Yoo, J-S. Kim, K-S. Lee. Subclinical cognitive patterns of caudate-anchored connectivity in early Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2022; 37 (suppl 2). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/subclinical-cognitive-patterns-of-caudate-anchored-connectivity-in-early-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed May 13, 2025.« Back to 2022 International Congress
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/subclinical-cognitive-patterns-of-caudate-anchored-connectivity-in-early-parkinsons-disease/