Dopamine dysfunction, one of the biggest causes of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, can be detected with a test. Thanks to the DatSCAN test, dopamine dysfunction can be visualized and a differential diagnosis can be made between Parkinson's disease and hand tremor, especially Essential Tremor.
Üsküdar University NPISTANBUL Hospital Neurology Specialist Dr. Celal Şalçini said that the DatSCAN test is a nuclear medicine method that displays the carriers of the dopamine hormone.
Dopamine dysfunction can be visualized
Prof. Dr. Celal Şalçini said, "The most basic feature of Parkinson's disease and its family diseases is that there is a problem in the functioning of the hormone called dopamine. Thanks to this test, we can visualize the dopamine dysfunction that we could not show before. In this way, we experience ease in diagnosing Parkinson's disease and differentiating similar diseases."
Differential diagnosis can be made in hand tremor
Prof. Dr. Celal Şalçini noted that thanks to DatSCAN, a differential diagnosis can be made between Parkinson's disease and hand tremor, especially Essential Tremor, as well as a differential diagnosis between Parkinson's-like symptoms caused by medications and Idiopathic Pakinson's Disease.
It is effective in determining the types of dementia
"It also helps to distinguish between dementia caused by Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease dementia, as well as Dementia with Lewy Bodies, which is one of the common causes of dementia after Alzheimer's Disease," said Dr. Celal Şalçini.
