Update on diffusion MRI in Parkinson's disease and atypical parkinsonism

Differentiating Parkinson's disease (PD) from other types of neurodegenerative atypical parkinsonism (AP) can be challenging, especially in early disease stages. Routine brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can show atrophy or signal changes in several parts of the brain with fairly high specificity for particular forms of AP, but the overall diagnostic value of routine brain MRI is limited. In recent years, various advanced MRI sequences have become available, including diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Here, we review available literature on the value of diffusion MRI for identifying and quantifying different patterns of neurodegeneration in PD and AP, in relation to what is known of underlying histopathologic changes and clinical presentation of these diseases. Next, we evaluate the value of diffusion MRI to differentiate between PD and AP and the potential value of serial diffusion MRI to monitor disease progression. We conclude that diffusion MRI may quantify patterns of neurodegeneration which could be of additional value in clinical use. Future prospective clinical cohort studies are warranted to assess the added diagnostic value of diffusion MRI.