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Different patterns of gray matter density in early- and middle-late-onset Parkinson’s disease: a voxel-based morphometry study

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Abstract

Early-onset Parkinson’s disease (EOPD) has a clinical course and characteristics distinct from middle-late-onset Parkinson’s disease (M-LOPD). Although many studies have investigated these differences, the neural mechanisms of these characteristics remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the morphological differences, and their related clinical significance, between EOPD and M-LOPD patients. We recruited two groups of patients, 28 EOPD patients and 37 M-LOPD patients, and two age- and sex-matched control groups (23 controls in each group). The voxel-based morphometry (VBM) technique was used to examine changes in gray matter (GM) density between patients and their corresponding controls. Compared with controls, EOPD patients had lower GM density in the left putamen, inferior frontal gyrus and insula, and higher GM density in the right occipital lobe and bilateral cerebellum posterior lobes. M-LOPD patients had lower GM density in the left cerebellum posterior lobe, occipital lobe and right supplementary motor area (SMA), and higher GM density in the left middle temporal gyrus. Correlation analyses showed that GM density values in the right cerebellum posterior lobe positively correlated with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor scores and the Hoehn–Yahr stages in EOPD patients. Our results reveal different patterns of structural changes in EOPD and M-LOPD patients. A probable compensatory effect of the cerebellum was observed and may partly explain the slower decline of motor function in EOPD patients.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank all the Parkinson’s disease patients and normal controls who participated in our research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, 310000, China

    Min Xuan, Xiaojun Guan, Peiyu Huang, Zhujing Shen, Quanquan Gu, Xinfeng Yu, Xiaojun Xu & Minming Zhang

  2. Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, Hangzhou, 310000, China

    Wei Luo

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  1. Min Xuan
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  2. Xiaojun Guan
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  3. Peiyu Huang
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  4. Zhujing Shen
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  6. Xinfeng Yu
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  9. Minming Zhang
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Correspondence to Minming Zhang.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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This study was funded by the 12th Five-year Plan for National Science and Technology Supporting Program of China (Grant No. 2012BAI10B04) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 81571654, 81371519 and 81301190).

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Xuan, M., Guan, X., Huang, P. et al. Different patterns of gray matter density in early- and middle-late-onset Parkinson’s disease: a voxel-based morphometry study. Brain Imaging and Behavior 13, 172–179 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-017-9745-4

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