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Wednesday, November 18, 2015

THE IMPACT OF DATSCAN ON PARKINSON'S DISEASE DIAGNOSIS


18th November 2015 - New research



The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of DaTscan in people with and without Parkinson's Disease in order to assess the degree of confidence in the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. DaTscan is the name of a clear colourless solution used for injection in SPECT scans. A SPECT scan uses a radioactive substance and a special camera to create three dimensional images that show how the organs work. The patient is positioned on a table in the room where they undergo the SPECT scan. For more information go to : http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/spect-scan/basics/definition/prc-20020674

When a DaTscan was carried out on people with definite Parkinson's Disease, the DaTscan was markedly abnormal in 92% of people with Parkinson's Disease and normal in the remaining 8%. Each of the sensitivity and positive predictive values of DaTscan in patients who had a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease is therefore 92%. In people with an uncertain diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease, 48% had remarkably abnormal scans, 16% had mild abnormalities, and 36% had normal scans.

A markedly abnormal DaTscan is confirmed as the diagnostic pattern for Parkinson's Disease but not in all people with Parkinson's Disease. Remarkably abnormal scans can also occur in people who did not have a certain diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. Therefore, even though the DaTscan is one of the most accurate methods of diagnosing Parkinson's Disease no method of diagnosis provides complete certainty.

Reference : Clinical Nuclear Medicine [2015] 40 (5) : 390-393 (I.Gayed, U.Joseph, M. Fanous, D.Wan, M.Schiess, W.Ondo, K.S.Won)


Complete abstract : http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25783511


http://www.viartis.net/parkinsons.disease/news/151118.pdf mail@viartis.net
©2015 Viartis 

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