Introduction: Molecular imaging with DaTSCAN SPECTis widely used as a diagnostic tool in patients with movementdisorders in the form of Parkinson's Disease (PD),Parkinson-plus syndromes and Tremor. In the present studythe potency of DATScan SPECT to detect degeneration inthe basal ganglia in early stages of PD, before the onset ofmedication, is evaluated. In addition the efficacy ofDaTSCAN for differential diagnosis between patients withidiopathic PD and patients with Parkinson-plus syndromesis examined.

Methodology: Participants: 21 patients with PD in earlystages, before the onset of medication, 20 patients withidiopathic PD and 6 patients with Parkinson-plussyndromes. 15 participants with normal results ofDaTSCAN SPECT and a clinical diagnosis different fromPD or Parkinson-plus were used as control.

DaTSCAN SPECT: In the present study the quantificationof Striatum Occipital/Occipital and the Xeleris workstation(GE) were used.

Results: The quantification for patients with idiopathic PD(1.185±0.05687) was significantly lower (p<0.0001) fromthe control (2.369±0.1258) and significantly lower (p<0.05)from that of patients in early stages of PD, before the onsetof medication (1.359±0.05324). There was no significantdifference between the idiopathic PD and Parkinson-plussyndromes (1.103±0.2442).

Conclusion: DaTSCAN SPECT can detect efficiently earlydegeneration in the basal ganglia before the onset ofmedication is needed. Its efficacy for the differentialdiagnosis between idiopathic PD and Parkinson-plussyndromes is questioned. The combination of imaging andclinical examination is mandatory for a certain diagnosis.