Longitudinal Changes in Neuromelanin MRI Signal in Parkinson's Disease: A Progression Marker

BACKGROUND: Development of reliable and accurate imaging biomarkers of dopaminergic cell neurodegeneration is necessary to facilitate therapeutic drug trials in Parkinson's disease (PD). Neuromelanin‐sensitive MRI techniques have been effective in detecting neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). The objective of the current study was to investigate longitudinal neuromelanin signal changes in the SNpc in PD patients. METHODS: In this prospective, longitudinal, observational case–control study, we included 140 PD patients and 64 healthy volunteers divided into 2 cohorts. Cohort I included 99 early PD patients (disease duration, 1.5 ± 1.0 years) and 41 healthy volunteers analyzed at baseline (V1), where 79 PD patients and 32 healthy volunteers were rescanned after 2.0 ± 0.2 years of follow‐up (V2). Cohort II included 41 progressing PD patients (disease duration, 9.3 ± 3.7 years) and 23 healthy volunteers at V1, where 30 PD patients were rescanned after 2.4 ± 0.5 years of follow‐up. Subjects were scanned at 3 T MRI using 3‐dimensional T1‐weighted and neuromelanin‐sensitive imaging. Regions of interest were delineated manually to calculate SN volumes, volumes corrected by total intracranial volume, signal‐to‐noise ratio, and contrast‐to‐noise ratio. RESULTS: Results showed (1) significant reduction in volume and volume corrected by total intracranial volume between visits, greater in progressing PD than nonsignificant changes in healthy volunteers; (2) no significant effects of visit for signal intensity (signal‐to‐noise ratio); (3) significant interaction in volume between group and visit; (4) greater volume corrected by total intracranial volume at baseline in female patients and greater decrease in volume and increase in the contrast‐to‐noise ratio in progressing female PD patients compared with male patients; and (5) correlations between neuromelanin SN changes and disease severity and duration. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a progressive and measurable decrease in neuromelanin‐based SN signal and volume in PD, which might allow a direct noninvasive assessment of progression of SN loss and could represent a target biomarker for disease‐modifying treatments. © 2021 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society