Dopamine transporter loss and clinical changes in MPTP-lesioned primates

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and the dopamine (DA) transporter tracer, 2 beta-carboxymethoxy-3 beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([I-123]beta-CIT), were used to determine DA transporter density in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-lesioned monkeys with varying degrees of parkinsonism. The clinical stage of parkinsonism corresponded to SPECT measures of striatal DA transporter density suggesting that more severe parkinsonism was associated with a greater degree of dopaminergic terminal degeneration. These findings are similar to those reported earlier using positron emission tomography (PET) and the DA metabolism tracer, 6-[F-18]fluoro-L-m-tyrosine (FMT), indicating that both are good methods for evaluating nigrostriatal degeneration in MPTP primate models. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.