PET Predicts Survival in Atypical Parkinsonian Syndrome

FDG-PET can predict survival of patients with clinically suspected atypical Parkinsonian syndrome (APS), according to a study published in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Researchers from Germany investigated the prognostic value of using FDG-PET compared with clinical diagnosis among patients with APS. Seventy-eight patients with suspected APS were enrolled in the study. All underwent initial FDG-PET imaging and were followed for 5.9 years. Of these patients, 44 were diagnosed with APS and 34 with Lewy body disease. Forty-four patients were still alive at 4.7 months (median) follow-up.

The results showed that patients who had been diagnosed with APS by PET or at one-year clinical follow-up had a median survival time of only 4.1 years, while the remaining patients, with Lewy body disease, had yet to reach median survival time.

The researchers concluded that use of FDG-PET provided an early predictor of survival in patients with clinically suspected APS. “This finding strongly supports the early inclusion of PET imaging in patient care,” they wrote.