Diagnosing Parkinson's disease is a tricky question because it can be difficult to distinguish from other diseases of the nervous system at an early stage..

Today, doctors must rely on the medical history and results of a neurological examination, but, unfortunately, there are no reliable imaging techniques..

The other day, Italian scientists announced the development of a new method for diagnosing Parkinson's disease using ultra-high-floor 7-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanners..

This state-of-the-art instrument provides images of unprecedented quality that allow you to see in detail the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease..

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, progressive neurological disease that leads to the loss of dopamine-producing brain cells - a chemical mediator that provides communication between nerve cells and controls body movements.

The disease is characterized by tremor, awkward movements, imbalance and coordination. Parkinson’s disease cannot be completely cured at the moment, but early diagnosis would help you find the right course of treatment in time for millions of patients around the world..

In a recent study published this week in the journal Radiology, Dr. Mirco Cosottini from the University of Pisa organized a brain scan of 38 people, including 17 Alzheimer's patients, using an MR scanner. Scientists also had a brain sample from a patient who died..

The main task of scientists was to determine whether ultra-high-floor 7-Tesla MR systems are capable of providing sufficiently accurate images for the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, and how this technique can be useful in this area.

To better understand the processes occurring in the brains of patients, the researchers scanned the black substance (substantia nigra) - the very area that suffers from Parkinson's disease. They found that the 7-Tesla scanner clearly distinguishes the three-layer organization of black substance..

Loss of dopamine-producing cells in this part of the brain is a major symptom of Parkinson's disease.. Dopamine is a very important mediator for many functions, including movement, mood, stress, reward and addiction..

Using the new method, scientists correctly diagnosed Parkinson's disease with 100% sensitivity and 96.2% specificity.. Sensitivity and specificity are used to assess the reliability of the diagnostic method.. The results allow us to talk about the new method as a breakthrough in the radiation diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Cosottini says the 7-tomography tomograph can diagnose Parkinson's disease earlier, which means that patients will receive the necessary treatment faster.. Now scientists are working on the possibility of radiation diagnosis of pathologies such as Alzheimer's.

Recall that back in December 2013 it was reported how new magnetic resonance imaging scanners can be used to diagnose multiple sclerosis. In the publication Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers described how, using a unique QSM technique, early diagnosis of MS can be made and disease progression can be monitored..

medbe. ru.