Sarah Al-Bachari1,
Laura Parkes, Rishma Vidyasagar, Martha Hanby2, Ira Leroi3,
Hedley Emsley2
1School
of Cancer and Imaging Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United
Kingdom; 2Neurology, Royal Preston Hospital, Preston, Lancashire,
United Kingdom; 3Psychiatry, University of Manchester, Manchester,
United Kingdom
Idiopathic Parkinsons disease (IPD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, yet treatment remains purely symptomatic. Recent research has implicated cerebrovascular mechanisms in the neurodegenerative process, yet the role in IPD is poorly understood. To investigate cerebrovascular dysfunction ASL MRI techniques were used to measure cerebral blood flow (CBF) and arrival time (aT), alongside structural markers of cerebrovascular disease, using 3Tesla MRI. Results have revealed focal regions of CBF increase in thalamus and areas of hypoperfusion in the posterior cortical regions, in addition there is a widespread increase in aT in patients compared to controls, implicating CV dysfunction in IPD.