Short communication 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 . w123 x . beta- 4-iodophenyl tropane I b-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 w18 x . tracer, 6- F fluoro-L-m-tyrosine FMT , indicating that both are good methods for evaluating nigrostriatal degeneration in MPTP primate models. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.