Special Imaging in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

In the diagnostics and differential diagnosis of Parkinson’s syndrome, cerebral imaging is indispensable. Unfortunately, however, there is no international consensus as to which technique should be used for which inquiry. As a result, a number of patients are given neither a CT or MRI scan. Occasionally, some form of routine examination is performed without directly addressing the details of the original inquiry, which then leads to additional work loads and financial resources when the examination has to be further “reviewed”. The problem here is even more serious when the question at hand relates to matters of finer differential diagnoses. SPECT analysis is generally recognized, but the quality of such analyses can vary in critical aspects. In individual cases, tracers have been made use of, but their explanatory power is yet to be understood on a wider basis. MIBG scintigraphy is still only used rarely. PET studies are only undertaken where the technique is locally available, and even then, the quality of such work varies considerably. Depending on the main focus of expertise in a medical department, very different methods of investigation are preferred. In this Special Issue we hope to both highlight present-day diagnostics with the help of imaging techniques and describe their differences from critical points of view. We will discuss not only the current state of the art of imaging in Parkinson’s syndromes, but also address the possibilities of future developments. It would be a great step forward if an effective consensus could finally be reached one day with generally accepted standards. Therefore, we would greatly appreciate receiving your contributions and we remain optimistic that we will receive a good number of them for publication. 

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jost
Guest Editor

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• Parkinson’s disease
• MRI
• PET
• SPECT
• scintigraphy