We investigated the regional selectivity of neurodegenerative changes in the SNc in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonism using neuromelanin-sensitive MRI. We confirmed that neuromelanin volume and signal were reduced in parkinsonian disorders. The spatial pattern of changes differed between progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and synucleinopathies. Compared to healthy controls (HC), subjects with PD and multisystem atrophy (MSA), PSP subjects had greater changes in the associative region. Signal-to-noise in the sensorimotor territory was preserved in PSP, but reduced in PD patients and there was a trend in MSA patients. There was no significant difference between MSA and PD.
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