[Application of 123I-FP-CIT in the clinical practice in Parkinsonism patients].

INTRODUCTION: 123I-FP-CIT scan has been supported in the last years by numerous studies as a technique of undeniable value to assess presynaptic integrity of the nigrostriatal pathway. The objective of this study is to perform a descriptive analysis of the main diagnostic aspects obtained from the first 110 studies made with FP-CIT in our center.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 110 consecutive patients distributed into 5 groups according to the clinical diagnosis, after a follow-up period of at least one year. Qualitative and quantitative scintigraphy was done.

RESULTS: A total of 61.8 % (68/110) of the studies were considered abnormal and 38.2 % (42/110) as normal. Among the abnormal examinations there was 88.3 % (60/68) agreement with the clinical diagnosis and agreement was 83.4 % (35/42) in the normal examinations. Inverse significant correlation was assessed between striatal binding and severity according to the H and Y scale (r = -0.4) and between qualitative and quantitative assessment (r = -0.86). There was no significant correlation between the degeneration of dopaminergic function according to age and degree of asymmetry on striatal binding in the different groups.

CONCLUSIONS: Generally an adequate agreement between clinical diagnosis and SPECT-FP-CIT was observed. Inverse correlation between striatal binding and H and Y scale and greater asymmetry at striatal binding was obtained among Parkinson patients than in the rest of groups.