Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Volume 33, Issue 1 , Pages 15-25, January 2007

Transcranial brain parenchyma sonography in movement disorders: State of the art

  • Uwe Walter

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress for correspondence to: Dr. Uwe Walter, Department of Neurology, University of Rostock, Gehlsheimer Str. 20, D-18147 Rostock, Germany.
    • ,
  • Stefanie Behnke

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, University of the Saarland, Homburg, Germany
    • ,
  • Jens Eyding

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, St. Josef Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
    • ,
  • Ludwig Niehaus

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology II, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
    • ,
  • Thomas Postert

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, St. Josef Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
    • Department of Neurology, St. Vincenz Hospital Paderborn, Paderborn, Germany
    • ,
  • Günter Seidel

      Affiliations

    • Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
    • ,
  • Daniela Berg

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Medical Genetics, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
    • Hertie Institute for Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

Received 8 March 2006; received in revised form 5 July 2006; accepted 20 July 2006.

Abstract 

The present paper summarizes recommendations on transcranial sonography (TCS) application in neurodegenerative diseases, resulting from a consensus meeting of the European Society of Neurosonology and Cerebral Hemodynamics. TCS of distinct infra- and supratentorial brain structures detects characteristic changes in several movement disorders, such as abnormal hyperechogenicity of substantia nigra (SN) in Parkinson’s disease and of lenticular nucleus in dystonia, Wilson’s disease and atypical Parkinsonian disorders. In healthy adults, the TCS finding of marked SN hyperechogenicity indicates a subclinical functional impairment of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system. The finding of marked SN hyperechogenicity in combination with normal lenticular-nucleus echogenicity discriminates idiopathic Parkinson’s disease from multiple-system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy with a positive predictive value of more than 90%. As TCS is a quick and noninvasive method, using the same duplex-ultrasound machines as for investigation of intracranial vessels, applicable even in agitated patients, this method has a great potential to be more widely used. (E-mail: http://uwe.walter@med.uni-rostock.de)

Key Words: Transcranial sonography, Brain parenchyma sonography, Neurodegenerative disease, Movement disorder, Substantia nigra, Lenticular nucleus, Caudate nucleus, Cerebellum, Ventricle width, Consensus

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PII: S0301-5629(06)01749-2

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2006.07.021

Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Volume 33, Issue 1 , Pages 15-25, January 2007

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