The motor network that governed the side of the body with initial symptoms was the first to become abnormal. Scientists under the direction of David Eidelberg, MD, head of the Feinstein's Center for Neurosciences, found that the motor network on the other side of the brain was also abnormal, even though symptoms appeared only two years later. The brain network that governs cognition began showing abnormalities after two more years had passed, which was four years after their diagnosis. The average age of the patients in the study is 58 and no one has yet to develop cognition problems.

The brain scans measure glucose and dopamine, the chemical that is depleted during the disease process. By using these scans to understand what the brain is doing before symptoms emerge, investigators are characterizing new therapeutic targets to slow or actually prevent the onset of clinical disability in Parkinson's disease and related neurological illnesses.

Source: North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System