SCIENTIFIC HUB

Follow the evidence.

SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE · MED

Subtle hypometabolism on [<sup>18</sup>F]FDG-PET, yet absent [<sup>123</sup>I]FP-CIT SPECT binding in a patient with spastic paraplegia type 7.

EJNMMI Rep · 2026-09-28

DOI: 10.1186/s41824-026-00323-6PMID: 42804092

Open accessJournal Article; case-reportOriginal source ↗

Research overview

The text below is the source article’s original abstract under a verified reuse license. cc by

Nuclear medicine neuroimaging is becoming increasingly important for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease, atypical parkinsonian syndromes and more rare neurological (movement) disorders. We report on a 46-year-old woman presented with frequent falls, a gradually progressive bipyramidal syndrome with gait ataxia, dysphagia, urinary urgency and -incontinence, low mood with disturbed emotional regulation and a mild asymmetric hypokinetic rigid syndrome. Additionally, she had a blurry vision, asymmetrical ptosis and abnormal vertical saccades. [18F]FDG PET/CT of the brain showed unspecific pattern of regional cortical hypometabolism and, more pronounced, striatal hypometabolism. [123I]FP-CIT SPECT showed a complete absence of on-target binding. Subsequent genetic testing revealed two variants in SPG7. The patient showed a modest favourable response on levodopa. This case illustrates profound neurodegeneration of the presynaptic dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons in SPG7.

Scientific assessment

01

Research question

Assess the question within the original study’s scope.

02

Methods & sample

Check the source article for study design and sample details.

03

Key findings

An editorially approved findings summary is not yet published for this record.

04

Limitations

Generalizability, bias and clinical meaning require separate assessment.

Methods, samples and clinical conclusions are not inferred from bibliographic metadata.