Application of ~(11)C-CFT PET in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease with early-stage

Objective: To evaluate the clinical application values of 11C-methyl-N-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-fluorophenyl) tropane(11C-CFT) PET imaging for dopamine transporter(DAT) in diagnosing Parkinson’s disease (PD) at its early stage. Methods: Ninty-eight patients with early-stage idiopathic PD (Hoehn Yahr 1~2), and 20 age-matched healthy volunteers were recruited. Using region of interest (ROI) technique to measure the CFT uptake ratio of bilateral striatum of all the above subjects including the subregions of caudate nucleus, anterior putamen and posterior putamen, which were applied to compare the difference of DAT distribution between the early stage PD and control group. Results: In the early PD group, 11C-CFT uptake in bilateral anterior and posterior putamen was significantly reduced to 40.7% and 23.5% of the control group respectively (P 0.05), where the major reduction occurred in the putamen opposite to the predominant symptoms, and the most apparent reductive region was posterior putamen. The CFT uptake of bilateral caudate nucleus was reduced to 97.4% of the control group (P0.05). In the group of hemi-parkinsonian patients(Hoehn Yahr 1~1.5), the CFT uptake in the ipsilateral(preclinical) anterior and posterior putamen was significantly reduced to 48.5% and 30.5% of the age-matched controls respectively (P0.05), while the ipsilateral caudate nucleus was reduced to 98.0%(P0.05). Conclusions: 11C-CFT DAT PET imaging is helpful in early diagnosis of Pakinson’s disease.