MR neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging of substantia nigra and putamen in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To explore the clinical application of MR neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods Forty-one patients with PD and 22 age-and sex-matched healthy volunteers underwent MR NODDI. The quantitative changes of substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) and putamen including intracellular volume fraction (Vic), orientation dispersion index (OD), and isotropic volume fraction (Viso) were compared with that of control. The independent predictors of PD were determined by multivariate logical regression analysis. Results: The levels of Vic and OD in SNpc and putamen were significantly lower in patients with PD than those in healthy controls. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that the changes of Vic in SNpc and putamen in patients with PD were significantly correlated with PD (P < 0.05). The SNpc and putamen were independent predictors of PD. In receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, the Vic values in contralateral SNpc and putamen showed the best diagnostic performance. Conclusion: MR NODDI can reflect the changes of brain microstructure in patients with PD, and its parameters can be used to evaluate PD quantitatively. (authors)