Pattern of dopa- minergic loss in the striatum of humans with MPTP in- duced parkinsonism

Objectives—To examine the distribution of striatal dopaminergic function in humans with parkinsonism induced by 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) to determine if there is a caudate-putamen gradient as is seen in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. Methods—We scanned nine humans ex-posed to MPTP with parkinsonism rang-ing from minimal to severe using [18F]fluorodopa (FD) and high resolution PET. The results were compared with those of 10 patients with Parkinson’s disease and six normal subjects. Results—In the MPTP group there was an equal degree of reduction of dopaminergic function in the caudate and putamen. This was diVerent from the greater putaminal than caudate loss in Parkinson’s disease (p<0.001). Conclusions—Parkinson’s disease is not caused by transient exposure to MPTP