Do CSF levels of t-Tau, p-Tau and β1-42 amyloid correlate with dopaminergic system impairment in patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson disease? A 123I-FP-CIT study in the early stages of the disease

Purpose: To investigate the relationships among cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of t-Tau, p-Tau and Aβ1-42 amyloid peptide and 123I-FP-CIT uptake.Conclusion: The results of our study suggest that the presynaptic dopaminergic system is more involved in Parkinson disease patients with lower t-Tau and p-Tau CSF values while values of Aβ1-42 amyloid peptide seems not to be related to nigrostriatal degeneration in our series.Methods: The study included 58 subjects (31 men and 27 women, age 67 ± 9 years) with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson disease diagnosed according to the United Kingdom Parkinson Disease Society Brain Bank criteria. All subjects underwent a CSF assay 28 ± 3 days before 123I-FP-CIT SPECT scanning. The relationships were evaluated by means of linear regression analysis and Pearson correlation.Results: Striatal 123I-FP-CIT was positively related to both t-Tau and p-Tau CSF values with low levels of t-Tau and p-Tau being related to a low uptake of 123I-FP-CIT. In particular, differences with higher statistical significance were found for the striatum between the contralateral side and the side mainly affected on clinical examination (P < 0.001). No significant relationships were found between Aβ1-42 amyloid peptide and 123I-FP-CIT binding.