Alterations of ASL Blood Perfusion in the Thalamus and Ventral Intermediate Thalamic Nucleus in Parkinson’s Disease Patients

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by brain metabolic abnormalities, particularly in subcortical regions. However, previously reported observations of subcortical blood perfusion are inconsistent, especially in the thalamus. This study aimed to investigate the alterations of thalamic regional cerebral blood flow (CBF) in PD by using a recently developed advanced 3D pseudo-continuous pulse arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging approach. Twenty-three PD patients with mild-to-moderate stage disease and 29 normal control subjects underwent ASL MRI. Regional mean CBF values in the thalamus and ventral intermediate thalamic nucleus (Vim) were measured and compared between the groups by one-way analysis of variance. The PD patients showed significantly lower CBF than controls in the bilateral thalamus and Vim. Our findings indicate that hypoperfusion in the thalamus and Vim could be an imaging marker of PD.