What is a DaTSCAN™?
dopamine is an important messenger substance (neurotransmitter) in the brain that subconsciously ensures the harmonization of movement sequences.
The death of the nerve cells that use this neurotransmitter to transmit information occurs in certain neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease or Multiple system atrophy .
As a result, those affected have slower movements and increased tremors. Other diseases may present with similar tremors in the early stages (e.g. essential tremor).
In these, the dopamine transporter system is unremarkable. With a special scintigraphy (DAT scan), the density of the dopamine transporters can be shown in a targeted manner. For example, a distinction can be made between Parkinson's disease and essential tremor.
Why should my doctor order a DaTSCAN™?
Your doctor may order a DaTSCAN™ to confirm or rule out a diagnosis, or to determine how a medication is affecting your brain or internal organs.
SPECT scans (as the underlying imaging technique is called) can also be ordered to diagnose or monitor diseases of the bones and internal organs, particularly the heart and brain, and even to treat and diagnose cancer .
With a DaTSCAN™ – it has the words dopamine and transport stuck in it – doctors can see which areas of the brain are responding to different stimuli, which is especially helpful in confirming diagnoses of movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Parkinson's disease and the essential tremor is.
DaTSCAN™ may also aid in the diagnosis and treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other conditions.
What happens during a DaTSCAN's™?
With a DaTSCAN™, a very small amount of a tracer specific to the organ or tissue being examined is injected into a vein by a nuclear medicine technician.
Images can be taken during the injection, immediately after the injection, or after a delay to allow the tracer to spread to the organ or tissue of interest. The gamma rays emitted by the tracer are captured by a special camera that is positioned near the organ or body part to be imaged.
You have to stay very still for the camera, but it doesn't touch you. The radiation exposure in a nuclear medicine examination is comparable to that in a routine X-ray examination.
The tracer only stays in the body for a short time before being excreted in the urine or stool.
How do I prepare for the examination?
You should make any previous recordings available, as they may save unnecessary examinations and can also be used for comparison when assessing the images.
Radiological preliminary examinations (e.g. MRI of the brain) can also be helpful for the assessment.
For the DAT scan it is not necessary sober to appear. However, the examining doctor must have all medications, that will be taken will be informed in advance. At what point in time individual medications should be discontinued in order to achieve an optimal and meaningful examination result is the subject of a preliminary discussion.
Possible risks and complications
Significant, more frequent side effects of the radioactive drug used are not known. In contrast to X-ray contrast media, allergic reactions are also extremely rare.
The examination is associated with a low level of radiation exposure, which corresponds to one to two times the annual natural radiation exposure in Germany (~ 2.1 mSv per year).
The result
Since the evaluation and assessment do not take place immediately, it is not possible to inform you of the result immediately after the examination.
In my special case, the radiologist, albeit only at my express request, allowed himself to be persuaded to make an initial assessment, which then agreed with the written result.
The written findings of the examination will be sent to the referring doctor in the following days.
I recommend that you ask the radiologist to also send the report to you personally, otherwise the already mentioned appointment shortage with the neurologist will strike again - and the report can be read by a layperson with a little Googling - at least that's how it was for me .
But: A reliable differentiation between the classic and atypical parkinsonian syndromes is unfortunately not possible with this examination.
Source: Clinic for Nuclear Medicine at the University Hospital Münster
In my case, the diagnosis was “most likely” idiopathic Parkinson’s syndrome.
A clear indication that this procedure does not bring definitive diagnostic certainty either.
Nevertheless, one can and can assume that the combination of clinical and imaging diagnosis results in a very high hit rate.
If the dopamine test - i.e. the short-term high dose of L-DOPA - leads to a noticeable improvement in the symptoms, then you are on the dark side, but at least on the safe side.
Here you can see one of my recordings.
The difference between the right and left side is clearly visible, although I was informed that the size of the difference does not yet provide a clear indication of the progression of the disease. |
Finally, an important note:
The processes cited in this article and, above all, the rules of conduct relate exclusively to my own investigation. This may well differ for you and will be determined by your radiologist and explained in advance.
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