Transcranial ultrasound in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease
WR Wayne Martin
Correspondence Movement Disorders Clinic, Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, 10230-111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB T5G 0B7, Canada
Email wayne.martin@ualberta.ca
This Practice Point commentary discusses a prospective study by Gaenslen et al. regarding the diagnostic value of transcranial ultrasound in patients with early features of parkinsonism. Reference diagnoses were obtained on the basis of repeated clinical examination over the course of 1 year and by the performance of functional imaging in uncertain cases. Ultrasound at baseline had a sensitivity of 91% with a specificity of 82% for a diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease; the positive predictive value for idiopathic Parkinson's disease was 93% with a classification accuracy of 88%. While application of this technique in carefully selected patients may improve diagnostic accuracy, it is important to note that nigral changes similar to those observed in patients with Parkinson's disease occur in approximately 10% of healthy individuals and have been reported in depression and essential tremor. The diagnosis of parkinsonian disorders continues to be based primarily on demonstration of characteristic neurological features.
Full text of this article is available with one of the following:
- Personal subscription Purchase your own personal subscription to this journal. Already a subscriber? Please log in for immediate access.
- 7 day single article pass for US$18 In order to purchase this article you must be a registered user. Please register or log in.
- Site licence Learn more about institutional site licences
Current Subscribers
Please log in to access the full text article using the login box at the top of the page.