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Positron emission tomography after MPTP: observations relating to the cause of Parkinson's disease

Nature volume 317, pages 246–248 (1985)Cite this article

Abstract

The dopa analogue 6-fluorodopa (6-FD) used with positron emission tomography (PET) allows in vivo visualization of dopamine and its metabolites in nigrostriatal nerve endings1. We have now found abnormal 6-FD scans in four subjects exposed to 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). None had parkinsonism. The results suggest subclinical damage to the nigrostriatal pathway. This is the first direct evidence that dopaminergic impairment can exist without clinical deficits. Here we discuss this finding in the context of the hypothesis that Parkinson's disease may stem from clinically silent damage to the substantia nigra, followed by slow attrition of neurones in this region because of its particular vulnerability to cell loss as a normal consequence of ageing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurology, UBC Health Science Centre Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1W5

    D. B. Calne, W. R. Wayne Martin & A. Jon Stoessl

  2. Department of Medicine and Statistics, UBC Health Science Centre Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1W5

    Michael Schulzer

  3. Department of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine, San Jose, California, 95128, USA

    J. William Langston

  4. UBC/TRIUMF PET Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6T 1W5

    Thomas J. Ruth, Michael J. Adam & Brian D. Pate

Authors
  1. D. B. Calne
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  2. J. William Langston
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  3. W. R. Wayne Martin
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  4. A. Jon Stoessl
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  5. Thomas J. Ruth
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  6. Michael J. Adam
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  7. Brian D. Pate
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  8. Michael Schulzer
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Calne, D., Langston, J., Martin, W. et al. Positron emission tomography after MPTP: observations relating to the cause of Parkinson's disease. Nature 317, 246–248 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317246a0

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