Patterns of Eye Movement Impairment Correlate with Regional Brain Atrophy in Neurodegenerative Parkinsonism

Background: One common feature of neurodegenerative parkinsonism including Parkinson's disease (PD), multisystem atrophy (MSA), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is altered eye movement control. Characteristic regional structural atrophy patterns in MRI can be observed in PD, MSA, and PSP.Objective: To investigate the association between eye movement disturbances and regional brain atrophy in patients with PD, MSA, and PSP.Methods: High-resolution 3-dimensional T1-weighted MRI images and video-oculographic recordings (EyeLink ®) were obtained from 39 PD, 32 PSP, and 18 MSA patients and 24 matched healthy control subjects. Automatic regional volumetric assessment was performed using atlas-based volumetry (ABV).Results: The prevalence of saccadic intrusions as a measure of inhibitory control was significantly increased in PD patients compared to controls (p
Source: Neurodegenerative Diseases - Category: Neurology Source Type: research