Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography results in the psychotic processes of parkinson's disease

Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography Results in the Psychotic Processes of Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the frequently seen neurodegenerative diseases. Besides its motor symptoms which are the primary findings and more apparent, also non-motor symptoms (autonomic, behavioral, cognitive and sensory) are effective on the individual's life. In the present study, locating the metabolically affected brain regions in PD patients with and without psychotic symptoms, and determining the relation of these with the clinical and demographic characteristics. From the patients who presented to the Neurology Clinic of Başkent University, Dr. Turgut Noyan Adana Research and Application Center between January 2014 and May 2016 and were diagnosed with PD, 13 patients with psychotic symptoms and 15 patients without psychosis were included. Neurological examination, Standardized Mini Mental Test (SMMT), Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MOCA), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn&Yahr results were recorded. Psychotic symptoms were classified by a psychiatrist as hallucination, delusion, behavioral disorder, and thought and mood disorders. The F18-FDG PET/CT findings were compared between the patients with and without psychosis and by symptoms within those with psychosis. An assessment of the results showed no significant difference between the psychotic group and the control group with respect to demographic data. A positive correlation was found between visual hallucination and duration of disease. Positive correlation between presence of psychosis and the MOCA overall score and its language, attention and orientation subgroup scores, the UPDRS overall score and its increasing mental status, daily activities, motor sections subgroup scores, anxiety and depression scores were found. Increased neurodegeneration in patients who had a diagnosis of PD for a longer time might be estimated as a cause of worsening of all these motor and non-motor symptoms. The difference found in the comparison of the PET/CT findings of the patients with and without psychotic symptoms did not reach the level of significance. We think that the level of significance can be reached if these findings are processed numerical rather than visual.