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Abstract #1109

A DTI Analysis of Limbic System Structural Integrity and Global Cognitive Status in Parkinsons Disease

Tracy Robert Melzer1,2, Richard Watts1,3, Michael R. MacAskill1,2, Ross Keenan4, Charlotte Graham1,2, Leslie Livingston1,2, John C. Dalrymple-Alford1,3, Tim J. Anderson1,2

1Van der Veer Institute, Christchurch, New Zealand; 2University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand; 3University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand; 4Christchurch Radiology Group, Christchurch, New Zealand

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) was used to investigate structural changes in key components of the limbic system as potential biomarkers in the progression of cognitive decline in Parkinsons disease (PD). Mean Diffusivity (MD) and Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values in 30 PD patients (categorized into cognitively intact (PDU), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and dementing (PDD)) and 20 controls were analyzed in a region-of-interest analysis that revealed significant differences between PDD and controls and PDD and PDU. Furthermore, DTI values correlated with cognitive measures. DTI is a promising method to evaluate and potentially track anatomical substrates of cognitive decline in PD.