Se-Hong Oh1, B. Jeon2, Jong-Min Kim2, Kyung-Nam Kim1, Sung-Yeon Park1, Dae-Hyuk Kwon1, Young-Bo Kim1, Z. H. Cho1
1Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, Incheon, Nam-dong gu, Korea; 2Movement Disorder Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Jong-ro Gu, Korea
An easily applicable diagnostic marker for Parkinson's disease (PD) is not yet available. To directly visualize substantia nigra (SN), mainly affected site in PD, we applied high resolution imaging by ultra high-field 7.0 Tesla MRI. T2*-weighted images clearly discerned the SN from surrounding areas such as the crus cerebri (CC) and red nucleus. In PD, the border between SN and CC appeared irregularly indented in striking contrast to that of normal individuals.