Progression from Unilateral to Bilateral Parkinsonism in Early Parkinson Disease: Implication of Mesocortical Dopamine Dysfunction by PET

Abstract

The finding of bilateral reduction in the striatal (11)C-CFT binding even in HY stage 1 PD patients confirms that molecular changes in the dopamine system precede clinical phenotype, suggesting an advantage of PET for detecting an early abnormality of the disease. The spread of parkinsonism to the unaffected side soon after the diagnosis of HY stage 1 PD may be related to the degree of mesocortical dopamine dysfunction.