YNICL Journal 2026 Journal Article
Striatal dopamine synthesis capacity in Parkinson’s disease: Effects of age, sex, and body mass index in a large [18F]fluorodopa PET cohort
- Tuulia Malén
- Jouni Tuisku
- Marco Bucci
- Severi Santavirta
- Valtteri Kaasinen
- Sakari Kaasalainen
- Janne Isojärvi
- Jarmo Hietala
BACKGROUND: F]fluorodopa detects reduced striatal dopamine synthesis capacity in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Demographic factors such as sex and BMI are also associated with dopamine synthesis capacity. The combined contribution of demographic and clinical effects however remains elusive. MATERIAL, AIMS, AND METHODS: C]raclopride PET scan, and (3) scanner effects and atlas- versus MRI-based quantification approaches. We provide the mean dopamine synthesis brain maps of healthy controls and PD patients in NeuroVault. RESULTS: estimates for most subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Dopamine synthesis capacity is independently affected by PD and demographic factors and correlated between the striatal and thalamic regions in both controls and PD patients. Adjusting for scanner effects in multi-scanner datasets is recommended. When subject-specific MRI is unavailable, atlas-based normalization may be used with caution to prevent major data loss.