uited 15 patients with early stage Parkinsons and signed them on to get brain scans at different points throughout the study. Some were on medicines and some were not. The first networks to be identified were no surprise: The basal ganglia, thalamus and brain stem that regulate movement. The scans they used measured glucose metabolism the brains fuel and identified areas in this motor network that showed decreased metabolic activity and some areas that had increased metabolic activity. Over time, the cognitive network became apparent. And as the disease progressed and symptoms worsened, this network also took its toll.

The circuits are like a fingerprint of the disease, Dr. Eidelberg said. As the disease gets worse, the fingerprint is much easier to identify. The circuits are the same in all Parkinsons patients, he added. They are now testing other treatments, including deep brain stimulation, to see if it can impact on the cognitive network. The cognitive problems are real and have to be addressed, he added. The medicines for Parkinsons dont seem to do anything to alter these networks and we need new ones to target these symptoms.

He said that the networks could be used as biomarkers to diagnose the disease. The scientists have also developed mathematical computer models to determine how fast the disease will progress. These scanning techniques may be helpful in determining what treatments work and what dont.

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Contact: Jamie Talan
jtalan@nshs.edu
516-562-1232
North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System
9-Jul-2007

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