In the scientific report titled “Elevated cerebral oxygen extraction fraction in Parkinson’s disease correlates with motor impairment severity,” researchers, including Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Junghun Cho, collaborated to advance the diagnosis and monitoring of early-stage Parkinson's disease (PD). The study, published in Scientific Reports, utilized a specific MRI technique to map how efficiently the brain consumes oxygen. This metric, known as oxygen extraction fraction (OEF), may serve as a potential new biomarker for monitoring disease progression.
Here is an excerpt from the study abstract: "This study investigates the cerebral oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) as a measure of cerebral oxygen metabolism to monitor disease progression in early-stage PD. OEF was measured noninvasively using magnetic resonance imaging with the QSM+qBOLD technique in 50 PD patients and 30 healthy controls. Whole-brain and region-of-interest analyses were conducted, focusing on key regions within the basal ganglia. Results revealed significantly elevated OEF in the basal ganglia of PD patients compared to controls. Moreover, OEF showed a positive correlation with Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part III scores, indicating an association between increased oxygen extraction and motor impairment severity in early PD.”
Read the full study in Scientific Reports.