Transcranial sonography in the evaluation of Parkinson disease.

OBJECTIVE With transcranial sonography (TS), it is possible to visualize hyperechoic signals in the sub-stantia nigra (SN) in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Our objective was to correlate the level of echogenicity in the SN with clinical status in patients with PD. METHODS In our pilot study, using TS, we examined 15 patients with the confirmed presence of PD. Staging of the latest clinical status was evaluated according to the Hoehn and Yahr scale. According to TS, the level of echogenicity was graduated as hypoechogenicity, moderate hyperechogenicity, and severe hyperechogenicity. RESULTS Of the patients with severe hyperechogenicity (8 patients), 7 had Hoehn and Yahr stage III disease, and 1 had stage II disease. Of the patients with moderate hyperechogenicity (6 patients), 4 had stage II disease; 1 had stage III disease; and 1 had stage I disease. The patient with hypoechogenicity had stage I disease. Statistical analysis showed that there was a significant correlation between the level of echogenicity in the SN and the clinical stage (r = 0.7735; P = .0007). CONCLUSIONS In our pilot study, although only a small number of patients were included, we confirmed the usefulness of TS in the evaluation of PD.