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Changes of olfactory tract in Parkinson’s disease: a DTI tractography study

  • Functional Neuroradiology
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ABSTRACT

Purpose

Impaired olfactory function is one of the main features of Parkinson’s disease. However, how peripheral olfactory structures are involved remains unclear. Using diffusion tensor imaging fiber tracking, we investigated for MRI microstructural changes in the parkinsonian peripheral olfactory system and particularly the olfactory tract, in order to seek a better understanding of the structural alternations underlying hyposmia in Parkinson’s disease.

Methods

All patients were assessed utilizing by the Italian Olfactory Identification Test for olfactory function and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III part as well as Hoehn and Yahr rating scale for motor disability. Imaging was performed on a 3 T Clinical MR scanner. MRI data pre-processing was carried out by DTIPrep, diffusion tensor imaging reconstruction, and fiber tracking using Diffusion Toolkit and tractography analysis by TrackVis. The following parameters were used for groupwise comparison: fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity, axial diffusivity, and tract volume.

Results

Overall 23 patients with Parkinson’s disease (mean age 63.6 ± 9.3 years, UPDRS-III 24.5 ± 12.3, H&Y 1.9 ± 0.5) and 18 controls (mean age 56.3 ± 13.7 years) were recruited. All patients had been diagnosed hyposmic. Diffusion tensor imaging analysis of the olfactory tract showed significant fractional anisotropy, and tract volume decreases for the Parkinson’s disease group compared with controls (P < 0.05). Fractional anisotropy and age, in the control group, were significant for multiple correlations (r = − 0.36, P < 0.05, Spearman’s rank correlation).

Conclusions

Fiber tracking diffusion tensor imaging analysis of olfactory tract was feasible, and it could be helpful for characterizing hyposmia in Parkinson’s disease.

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Acknowledgments

The Movement Disorders Center of the University of Perugia was supported by a grant from the New York University School of Medicine and the Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders, which was made possible with support from Marlene and Paolo Fresco.

Funding

No funding was received for this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Movement Disorders Center, Neurology Department, Perugia General Hospital and University of Perugia, S. Maria della Misericordia Hospital, Perugia, Italy

    Pasquale Nigro, Simone Simoni, Federico Paolini Paoletti, Giulia Cappelletti, Marta Filidei & Nicola Tambasco

  2. Department of Medical Physics, Perugia General Hospital, Perugia, Italy

    Andrea Chiappiniello & Roberto Tarducci

  3. Neuroradiology Unit, Perugia General Hospital, Perugia, Italy

    Pietro Chiarini & Giorgio Guercini

  4. Neurology Department, Perugia General Hospital and University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Paolo Eusebi, Lucilla Parnetti & Nicola Tambasco

  5. Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    Valerio Santangelo

  6. Neuroimaging Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy

    Valerio Santangelo

  7. Neurologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Calabresi

  8. Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy

    Paolo Calabresi

Authors
  1. Pasquale Nigro
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  2. Andrea Chiappiniello
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  3. Simone Simoni
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  4. Federico Paolini Paoletti
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  5. Giulia Cappelletti
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  6. Pietro Chiarini
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  7. Marta Filidei
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  8. Paolo Eusebi
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  10. Valerio Santangelo
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  11. Roberto Tarducci
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  12. Paolo Calabresi
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  13. Lucilla Parnetti
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  14. Nicola Tambasco
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Contributions

All authors have approved the final article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicola Tambasco.

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Conflict of interest

NT received a travel grant from Abbvie. PaC received research support from Bayer Schering, Biogen-Dompé, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eisai, Lundbeck, Merck-Serono, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, Sigma-Tau, and UCB Pharma. PN, AC, PE, SS, FPP, GC, PC, MF, RT, GG, VS, and LP declare that there are no disclosures to report.

Ethical approval

The study was reviewed and approved by the local ethic committee.

Informed consent

After a full explanation of the study, written informed consent was obtained from all participants according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

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Nigro, P., Chiappiniello, A., Simoni, S. et al. Changes of olfactory tract in Parkinson’s disease: a DTI tractography study. Neuroradiology 63, 235–242 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-020-02551-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00234-020-02551-4

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