A comparative examination of normalized volume data of brain cortical structures by magnetic resonance images of Parkinson patients with the control group

Aim: Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that occurs due to substantia nigra degeneration and causes changes in cortical areas. The aim of our study is to examine the structural and volumetric changes in the motor and sensory cortex in Parkinson's disease. The ratio of volume data to total intracranial volume was also calculated to reduce interindividual differences and to obtain more consistent results. Importance: By examining the volumetric and structural differences in the cortical area, it will contribute to the early diagnosis of the disease, the response to treatment, the evaluation of the course and stages of the disease, and the prediction of the symptoms that will occur. Method: Magnetic resonance images of 55 Parkinson's patients (14 women; 41 men) and 28 healthy individuals (7 women; 21 men) were included in the study. Volume data were obtained from the magnetic resonance images with the automatic brain segmentation software BrainSuite and ImageJ. Results: In Parkinson's patients, the ratio of gray matter volume of the left gyrus postcentralis to total intracranial volume was found to be lower that of healthy individuals. There was no difference between two groups in terms of total volume, gray matter volume, white matter volume, cortical thickness and volume data of other areas examined in the motor and sensory cortex and total intracranial volume ratios.