Optimizing the Diagnosis of Parkinsonian Syndromes With 123I-Ioflupane Brain SPECT

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of I-123-ioflupane SPECT in the evaluation of suspected parkinsonian syndromes (PSs). This collection of diseases presents frequent diagnostic challenges, even by movement disorder and dementia specialists. CONCLUSION. The I-123-ioflupane scan serves as an imaging biomarker of the status of presynaptic dopamine transporters (DATs) in the striatum. As a result of neuronal death, DATs are greatly reduced in patients with PS neurodegenerative disorders, whereas clinical mimics generally do not show striatal DAT loss. This provides a tremendous opportunity for I-123-ioflupane to aid in the accurate and timely diagnosis of these patients and optimize their management.