A study has shown that the patterns of brain atrophy in Parkinson’s disease patients can be predicted by mapping functional and structural connections in the brain using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
The Radiological Society of North America published the study results in Radiology.
The research team mapped the brain connections of 86 patients with mild Parkinson’s disease and a healthy control group of 60 individuals using MRI data.
The researchers explained that information about the brain’s functional and structural connections creates an index for the duration of Parkinson’s disease, which assists in predicting brain atrophy.
For example, the team stated that the patients who had Parkinson’s disease for 1-2 years were 2-3 years more advanced in brain atrophy than the baseline. In addition, the team developed a model of three years prediction in the degree of gray matter atrophy in specific brain areas.
The experts argue that MRI scans can assist in preventing or delaying the progression of Parkinson’s disease, which is significantly affected by the functional and structural connections between brain regions.
They expect that utilizing an index for the duration of Parkinson’s disease would make it possible to predict future brain atrophy in specific brain regions based on the brain connectivity and severity of atrophy in patients.
Furthermore, they added that by accurately predicting the degree of atrophy progression, it is possible to shorten the number of participants and the duration of clinical trials by identifying patients who respond best to treatment.
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