Objective

The dopaminergic pathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD) impacts circuits involving GABAergic neurons, especially in the brainstem, where the disease manifests early. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that levels of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the upper brainstem are reduced in patients with PD compared to healthy controls, using edited magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS of GABA +).

Materials and methods

GABA + levels were examined in 18 PD patients and 18 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs). GABA + -edited MRS was performed in 7.5-ml voxels in the upper brainstem, and the spectra were processed using the Gannet software. Differences in GABA + levels between the two groups were analyzed using independent t test analysis.

Results

GABA + levels were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the upper brainstem of the patients with PD (4.57 ± 0.94 mM) than the HCs (5.89 ± 1.16 mM).

Conclusion

The lower GABA + levels in the upper brainstem of the PD patients suggest that a GABAergic deficit in the brainstem may contribute to the pathology in PD.

中文翻译：

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帕金森病中的上脑干 GABA 水平

客观的

帕金森病 (PD) 的多巴胺能病理学影响涉及 GABA 能神经元的回路，尤其是在疾病早期表现的脑干中。本研究的目的是使用经过编辑的磁共振波谱（GABA + 的 MRS）检验 PD 患者上脑干中的 γ-氨基丁酸 (GABA) 水平与健康对照相比降低的假设。

材料和方法

在 18 名 PD 患者和 18 名年龄和性别匹配的健康对照 (HC) 中检查了 GABA + 水平。GABA +  -编辑的 MRS 在上脑干的 7.5 毫升体素中进行，并使用 Gannet 软件处理光谱。使用独立的t检验分析分析两组之间 GABA + 水平的差异。

结果

 PD 患者上脑干中的GABA + 水平 (4.57 ± 0.94 mM) 显着低于 HCs (5.89 ± 1.16 mM) ( p < 0.05)。

结论

PD 患者上脑干中较低的 GABA + 水平表明脑干中的 GABA 能缺陷可能导致 PD 的病理。