Advancement of PD Is Reflected by White Matter Changes in Olfactory Areas: A Pilot Study

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Loss of sense of smell is a well-known non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Here, we present insight into the association between PD advancement and equivalents of smell loss in olfactory-eloquent brain areas, such as the posterior cortex and orbitofrontal cortex. Twelve PD patients in different Hoehn and Yahr stages and 12 healthy normosmic individuals were examined with diffusion tensor imaging. Tract-based spatial statistics were used to analyze microstructural changes in white matter adjacent to the bilateral posterior and orbitofrontal cortex. Axial diffusivity, mean diffusivity, and radial diffusivity were significantly higher in olfactory ROIs in advanced PD patients. The results of this preliminary study indicate that PD advancement is associated with progressive neurodegeneration in olfactory-related brain areas.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Journal Medicina
Volume57
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2021
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMedCentral PMC8621150
Scopus 85118622647
ORCID /0000-0001-9713-0183/work/146645268
ORCID /0000-0002-2387-526X/work/150328921

Keywords

Keywords

  • Brain, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, Humans, Parkinson Disease/diagnostic imaging, Pilot Projects, Smell, White Matter/diagnostic imaging