Automated neuromelanin imaging as a diagnostic biomarker for Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze the diagnostic accuracy of an automated segmentation and quantification method of the SNc and locus coeruleus (LC) volumes based on neuromelanin (NM)-sensitive MRI (NM-MRI) in patients with idiopathic (iPD) and monogenic (iPD) Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: Thirty-six patients (23 idiopathic and 13 monogenic PARKIN or LRRK2 mutations) and 37 age-matched healthy controls underwent 3T-NM-MRI. SNc and LC volumetry were performed using fully automated multi-image atlas segmentation. The diagnostic performance to differentiate PD from controls was measured using the area under the curve (AUC) and likelihood ratios based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. RESULTS: We found a significant reduction of SNc and LC volumes in patients, when compared to controls. ROC analysis showed better diagnostic accuracy when using SNc volume than LC volume. Significant differences between ipsilateral and contralateral SNc volumes, in relation to the more clinically affected side, were found in patients with iPD (P = 0.007). Contralateral atrophy in the SNc showed the highest power to discriminate PD subjects from controls (AUC, 0.93-0.94; sensitivity, 91%-92%; specificity, 89%; positive likelihood ratio: 8.4-8.5; negative likelihood ratio: 0.09-0.1 at a single cut-off point). Interval likelihood ratios for contralateral SNc volume improved the diagnostic accuracy of volumetric measurements. CONCLUSION: SNc and LC volumetry based on NM-MRI resulting from the automated segmentation and quantification technique can yield high diagnostic accuracy for differentiating PD from health and might be an unbiased disease biomarker. © 2015 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Resting state functional connectivity of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson's disease assessed using arterial spin-labeled perfusion fMRI.

Neurophysiological changes within the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits appear to be a characteristic of Parkinson's disease (PD) pathophysiology. The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is one of the basal ganglia components showing pathological neural activity patterns in PD. In this study, perfusion imaging data, acquired noninvasively using arterial spin-labeled (ASL) perfusion MRI, were used to assess the resting state functional connectivity (FC) of the STN in 24 early-to-moderate PD patients and 34 age-matched healthy controls, to determine whether altered FC in the very low frequency range of the perfusion time signal occurs as a result of the disease. Our results showed that the healthy STN was functionally connected with other nuclei of the basal ganglia and the thalamus, as well as with discrete cortical areas including the insular cortex and the hippocampus. In PD patients, connectivity of the STN was increased with two cortical areas involved in motor and cognitive processes. These findings suggest that hyperconnectivity of the STN could underlie some of the motor and cognitive deficits often present even at early stages of the disease. The FC measures provided good discrimination between controls and patients, suggesting that ASL-derived FC metrics could be a putative PD biomarker.

Frontobasal gray matter loss is associated with the TREM2 p.R47H variant.

A rare heterozygous TREM2 variant p.R47H (rs75932628) has been associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We aimed to investigate the clinical presentation, neuropsychological profile, and regional pattern of gray matter and white matter loss associated with the TREM2 variant p.R47H, and to establish which regions best differentiate p.R47H carriers from noncarriers in 2 sample sets (Spanish and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, ADNI1). This was a cross-sectional study including a total number of 16 TREM2 p.R47H carriers diagnosed with AD or mild cognitive impairment, 75 AD p.R47H noncarriers and 75 cognitively intact TREM2 p.R47H noncarriers. Spanish AD TREM2 p.R47H carriers showed apraxia (9 of 9) and psychiatric symptoms such as personality changes, anxiety, paranoia, or fears more frequently than in AD noncarriers (corrected p = 0.039). For gray matter and white matter volumetric brain magnetic resonance imaging voxelwise analyses, we used statistical parametric mapping (SPM8) based on the General Linear Model. We used 3 different design matrices with a full factorial design. Voxel-based morphometry analyses were performed separately in the 2 sample sets. The absence of interset statistical differences allowed us to perform joint and conjunction analyses. Independent voxel-based morphometry analysis of the Spanish set as well as conjunction and joint analyses revealed substantial gray matter loss in orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex with relative preservation of parietal lobes in AD and/or mild cognitive impairment TREM2 p.R47H carriers, suggesting that TREM2 p.R47H variant is associated with certain clinical and neuroimaging AD features in addition to the increased TREM2 p.R47H atrophy in temporal lobes as described previously. The high frequency of pathologic behavioral symptoms, combined with a preferential frontobasal gray matter cortical loss, suggests that frontobasal and temporal regions could be more susceptible to the deleterious biological effects of the TREM2 variant p.R47H.

Mutational screening of PARKIN identified a 3' UTR variant (rs62637702) associated with Parkinson's disease.

PRKN mutations have been linked to Parkinson's disease (PD). Most of the mutational screenings have focused on the coding exons. The 3' untranslated region (UTR) could also harbor functionally relevant nucleotide changes. We performed a mutational screening of PRKN in a cohort of early-onset PD patients (n = 235) from Spain. We found 16 mutations (five new): 16 patients (7 %) carried two mutations and only one mutation was found in 28 (12 %). Patients with two mutations had significantly lower mean age (30 ± 9 years) compared to patients with one (40 ± 7) or no mutation (42 ± 7). We found a total of 15 nucleotide variants (three new) in the 3' UTR region. The frequency of carriers of the rare rs62637702 G allele (*94A/G) was significantly lower among the patients compared to healthy controls (n = 418) (0.03 vs. 0.004; p < 0.001), suggesting a protective role for this allele. In order to investigate the basal effect of this variant, we performed luciferase assays. No different basal activity was observed between the two alleles. In conclusion, the rs62637702 polymorphism was associated with PD. This could be a surrogate marker for disease risk, in linkage disequilibrium with other non-identified functional variant.

Cortical hypoperfusion in Parkinson's disease assessed using arterial spin labeled perfusion MRI.

Alterations in cerebral perfusion and metabolism in Parkinson's disease have been assessed in several studies, using nuclear imaging techniques and more recently magnetic resonance imaging. However, to date there is no consensus in the literature regarding the extent and the magnitude of these alterations. In this work, arterial spin labeled perfusion MRI was employed to quantify absolute cerebral blood flow in a group of early-to-moderate Parkinson's disease patients and age-matched healthy controls. Perfusion comparisons between the two groups showed that Parkinson's disease is characterized by wide-spread cortical hypoperfusion. Subcortically, hypoperfusion was also found in the caudate nucleus. This pattern of hypoperfusion could be related to cognitive dysfunctions that have been previously observed even at the disease early stages. The present results were obtained by means of whole brain voxel-wise comparisons of absolute perfusion values, using statistical parametric mapping, thus avoiding the potentially biased global mean normalization procedure. In addition, this work demonstrates that between-group comparison of relative perfusion values after global mean normalization, introduced artifactual relative perfusion increases, where absolute perfusion was in fact preserved. This has implications for perfusion studies of other brain disorders.

LRRK2 haplotype-sharing analysis in Parkinson's disease reveals a novel p.S1761R mutation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Mutations in the Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene at chromosome 12q12 are the most common genetic cause of sporadic and familial late-onset Parkinson's disease. Our aim was to identify novel LRRK2 mutations in late-onset Parkinson's disease families. DESIGN: We analyzed chromosome 12p11.2-q13.1 haplotypes in 14 late-onset Parkinson's disease families without known LRRK2 mutations. RESULTS: Haplotype analysis identified 12 families in which the affected subjects shared chromosome 12p11.2-q13.1 haplotypes. LRRK2 sequencing revealed a novel co-segregating missense mutation in exon 36 (c.5281A>C; p.S1761R) located within a highly conserved region of the COR [C-terminal of ROC (Ras of complex proteins)] domain wherein it could deregulate LRRK2 kinase activity by modifying ROC-COR dimer stability. p.S1761R was present in a late-onset Parkinson's disease family and in 2 unrelated Parkinson's disease subjects, but not in 2491 healthy controls. LRRK2 p.S1761R carriers developed levodopa-responsive asymmetrical parkinsonism, with variable age at onset (range: 37-72 years) suggesting age-dependent penetrance. These findings indicate that mutations interfering with LRRK2 ROC-COR domain dimerization lead to typical Parkinson's disease.

LINGO1 gene analysis in Parkinson's disease phenotypes.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor (ET) may share some etiopathogenic factors. A genome-wide association study has shown that LINGO1 gene variants are associated with increased risk of ET. We hypothesized that LINGO1 variants could increase susceptibility to PD. METHODS: A large series of PD subjects and healthy controls were genotyped for rs9652490 and rs11856808 LINGO1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). RESULTS: We found an increased frequency of the rs11856808(T/T) genotype in PD compared with controls (odds ratio = 1.46; corrected P value = 0.02). A recessive genetic model was the best fit for rs11856808 influence on PD (recessive gene action test: corrected P value = 0.01). Stratification analysis showed that rs11856808(T/T) genotype frequency was higher in the tremor-dominant PD and the classical PD (C-PD) subgroups (recessive gene action test for the C-PD subgroup: corrected P value = 0.004). DISCUSSION: Our results indicate that LINGO1 variants could increase risk of PD, specifically those presenting the non-rigid-akinetic phenotypes, which suggests that LINGO1 may have a role in the etiology of tremor in PD at least in the Spanish population.

Effects on resting cerebral blood flow and functional connectivity induced by metoclopramide: a perfusion MRI study in healthy volunteers.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The substituted benzamide, metoclopramide, is a dopamine receptor antagonist and is widely prescribed in the symptomatic treatment of nausea and vomiting, although it can cause adverse motor and non-motor side effects. The effects of metoclopramide on brain metabolism have not been investigated to date. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH To determine the effects of metoclopramide on brain function, cerebral perfusion changes after a single oral dose were assessed in healthy volunteers using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques. Arterial spin labelling (ASL) perfusion MRI was used to measure cerebral blood flow before and after metoclopramide. Blood haemodynamics in the vertebral and internal carotid arteries were evaluated using phase-contrast MRI. KEY RESULTS Metoclopramide altered haemodynamics in the carotid arteries and the cerebral perfusion. Perfusion increased bilaterally in the putamen, consistent with antagonism of dopamine D(2) receptors by metoclopramide and possibly related to its motor side effects. In contrast, reduced perfusion was observed in the insular cortices and anterior temporal lobes. In addition, functional connectivity between the insular cortex and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was decreased. These cortical changes affecting neural circuits between high-order association areas may underlie certain neuropsychiatric conditions occasionally reported after metoclopramide administration. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS The present results show the sensitivity of ASL to detect small changes in regional blood flow, closely related to brain function, after a single pharmacological challenge, highlighting the potential of this technique for human pharmacological studies.

PINK1-linked parkinsonism is associated with Lewy body pathology.

Phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 gene mutations have been associated with autosomal recessive early-onset Parkinson's disease. To date, no neuropathological reports have been published from patients with Parkinson's disease with both phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 gene copies mutated. We analysed the coding region of phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 gene in a large Spanish family with six members with parkinsonism. The phenotype was characterized by an early-onset (mean: 31.6, standard deviation: 9.6 years, range: 14-45 years), slowly progressive levodopa-responsive parkinsonism, initial gait impairment and psychiatric symptoms. We identified two segregating pathogenic phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 mutations that were either in homozygous or heterozygous compound state in all affected family members. We found an exon 7 deletion (g.16089_16383del293; c.1252_1488del) and a novel+1U1-dependent 5' splice-site mutation in exon 7 (g.16378G>A; c.1488+1G>A). Leukocyte-derived messenger RNA analysis showed that both mutations caused exon 7 skipping and c.1488+1G>A also lead to an in-frame transcript with a 33 base-pair deletion (p.L485_R497del) resulting from activation of a 5' cryptic exon 7 splice site. Single photon emission computed tomography quantification of striatal dopamine transporter binding (123I-Ioflupane) revealed a posterior-anterior gradient similar to that of idiopathic Parkinson's disease, but there was no correlation between striatal reduced uptake and disease duration. Post-mortem neuropathological examination of an early-onset Parkinson's disease carrier of two heterozygous compound phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 mutations showed neuronal loss in the substantia nigra pars compacta, Lewy bodies and aberrant neurites in the reticular nuclei of the brainstem, substantia nigra pars compacta and Meynert nucleus, but the locus ceruleus and the amygdala were spared. This is the first neuropathological report of the brain from an early-onset phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1-linked parkinsonism showing that mutated phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 protein induces Lewy body pathology. Unbalanced preservation of the locus ceruleus may well play a role in the slow evolution of motor symptoms and, probably, in the psychiatric symptoms often encountered in Parkinson's disease associated with phosphatase and tensin homolog-induced putative kinase 1 mutation.

Cortical atrophy and language network reorganization associated with a novel progranulin mutation.

Progressive nonfluent aphasia (PNFA) is an early stage of frontotemporal degeneration. We identified a novel Cys521Tyr progranulin gene variant in a PNFA family that potentially disrupts disulphide bridging causing protein misfolding. To identify early neurodegeneration changes, we performed neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies in 6 family members (MRI [magnetic resonance imaging], fMRI [functional MRI], and 18f-fluorodeoxygenlucose positron emission tomography, including 4 mutation carriers, and in 9 unrelated controls. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of the carriers compared with controls showed significant cortical atrophy in language areas. Grey matter loss was distributed mainly in frontal lobes, being more prominent on the left. Clusters were located in the superior frontal gyri, left inferior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, left middle temporal gyri and left posterior parietal areas, concordant with (18)FDG-PET hypometabolic areas. fMRI during semantic and phonemic covert word generation (CWGTs) and word listening tasks (WLTs) showed recruitment of attentional and working memory networks in the carriers indicative of functional reorganization. During CWGTs, activation in left prefrontal cortex and bilateral anterior insulae was present whereas WLT recruited mesial prefrontal and anterior temporal cortex. These findings suggest that Cys521Tyr could be associated with early brain impairment not limited to language areas and compensated by recruitment of bilateral auxiliary cortical areas.