Oculomotor focal dystonia

In vivo imaging of the dopamine transporter, a protein on the terminals of dopaminergic projections from the substantia nigra to the striatum, provides an excellent marker of the dopaminergic system in patients with parkinsonism.1–8 Previous studies have demonstrated that SPECT and [123I] b-CIT (2bcarboxymethoxy- 3b-(4-iodophenyl)tropane), an agent which targets the dopamine transporter, is a sensitive marker of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis and severity.9,10 The pattern of loss of [123I] b-CIT uptake in Parkinson’s disease has been shown to be region-specific within the basal ganglia (putamen > caudate) consistent with postmortem evaluation of the dopaminergic transporter in Parkinson’s disease.10,11 Furthermore, all Parkinson’s disease patients have demonstrated significant bilateral loss of [123I] b-CIT uptake even in patients early in their disease with hemi-parkinsonism symptoms.12 In this report, we present the results of dopamine transporter imaging in a patient with hemi-parkinsonism with a history of repeated hemorrhages due to a midbrain arteriovenous malformation treated with radiation.