FIG. 3

SPECT images of the distribution of [123I]b-CIT in a healthy subject and a patient with Parkinson’s Disease. [123I]b-CIT is a radiolabeled cocaine analog and is a probe of dopamine transporters in the striatum. These transporters are located presynaptically on terminals of dopamine neurons projecting from the substantia nigra to the striatum. These transverse images show a high density of DA transporters in striatum and a marked reduction of these sites in an age- and sex-matched patient with idiopathic Parkinson’s Disease. The transporters are lost, because the entire neuron (including its terminal projections) degenerate in this disorder.

Back to Chapter

published 2000