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Magnetic resonance imaging in progressive supranuclear palsy

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Abstract

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a tauopathy, presenting clinically most often with a symmetrical akinetic-rigid syndrome, postural instability, supranuclear gaze palsy and frontal dementia. In the absence of reliably validated biomarkers, the diagnosis of PSP in vivo is presently based on clinical criteria, which to date do not include supporting imaging findings, as is accepted for other neurodegenerative diseases. However, data from conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and various advanced MRI techniques including magnetic resonance volumetry, voxel-based morphometry, diffusion-weighted and diffusion-tensor imaging, magnetization transfer imaging and proton resonance spectroscopy suggest that MRI can contribute valuable information for the differential diagnosis of PSP. We review here the presently published literature concerning MRI in PSP and discuss the potential role of MRI in differentiating PSP from other parkinsonian syndromes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Markus Behlke for his useful help with the images.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Philipps University, Rudolf-Bultmann Str. 8, 35033, Marburg, Germany

    M. Stamelou, S. Knake, W. H. Oertel & G. U. Höglinger

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  1. M. Stamelou
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  2. S. Knake
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  3. W. H. Oertel
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  4. G. U. Höglinger
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Correspondence to M. Stamelou.

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Stamelou, M., Knake, S., Oertel, W.H. et al. Magnetic resonance imaging in progressive supranuclear palsy. J Neurol 258, 549–558 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-010-5865-0

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