Progressive dopaminergic defect in a patient with primary progressive multiple sclerosis
: Kaasinen Valtteri, Joutsa Juho, Rissanen Eero, Airas Laura, Soilu-Hänninen Merja, Noponen Tommi
Publisher: Elsevier B.V.
: 2019
: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
: Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
: 101385
: 36
: 3
: 2211-0348
: 2211-0356
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msard.2019.101385
: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/43713416
Dopamine has a modulatory role in a number of autoimmune diseases, but there are no published cases of longitudinal dopaminergic imaging in multiple sclerosis (MS). Here we report a patient with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) who was scanned twice with brain dopamine transporter single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with an interval of four years. The results showed a loss of tracer binding that corresponded to a 4–7 fold steeper decline than in normal ageing. The finding points to a relevant role of nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration in the pathological process of PPMS.