Decreased axial diffusivity in early Parkinson’s disease subjects: Insights from Parkinson’s Progressive Markers Initiative (PPMI) dataset

In vivo imaging that reliably captures the impact of the spreading pathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD), including its impact on both white and gray matter, remains elusive. In this study, we performed skeleton-wise analysis of multi-site DTI data from a cohort of early PD-subjects in Parkinson’s Progressive Markers Initiative (PPMI) database. Tract-based-spatial-statistics analysis revealed three clusters mainly located in corticospinal tract, and superior frontal gyrus that had a lower AxD in early PD-subjects suggesting DTI measures can be used to differentiate controls and early PD, and can be further exploited to understand its role in disease progression and severity.