White matter hyperintensities (WMH) play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of Vascular Parkinsonism (VP), a clinical entity characterized by parkinsonism, postural instability, marked gait difficulty and poor levodopa response. However, involvement of normal-appearing white matter (NAWM) in VP still remains unknown. Here we analyzed NAWM microstructure in VP compared to Parkinson’s disease (PD) and controls using MRI and DTI. We found extensive DTI alterations in VP, but not in PD nor in controls. NAWM damage in the genu of corpus callosum correlated with clinical core features such as postural instability, freezing-of-gait and symmetry of parkinsonism.
This abstract and the presentation materials are available to members only; a login is required.