Penumoencephalographic findings in parkinsonism

Abstract

Pneumoencephalograms of 19 patients with unilateral parkinsonism, and of 26 patients with symptoms of generalized parkinsonism were studied. Cortical atrophy was found in 46.7% (21), while central (ventricular) atrophy occurred in 77.8% (35) of the patients. The percentage of patients with cortical atrophy, or with enlargement of ventricular body span (VBS) and septum-caudate distance (S-C), was smaller in the hemiparkinsonism group. No substantial correlation was found between enlargement of frontal horn width (FH), S-C and third ventricle width (3V), and the duration of illness. Likewise, no noteworthy correlation could be seen between the degree of central atrophy and the severity of the clinical symptoms. The FH/S-C ratio of the group of unilateral parkinsonism patients was higher than in the generalized parkinsonism group. The FH/S-C ratios in parkinsonism and in Huntington chorea patients varied. A ratio of greater than 1.40 was found in 73.3% of the patients with parkinsonism, and in an earlier study, it was found that 96.4% of the patients with Huntington chorea had a ratio less than 1.40. It is suggested that a FH/S-C ratio less than or equal to 1.40 is compatible with the diagnosis of Huntington chorea, although 26.7% (12) patients with parkinsonism have a ratio less than or equal to 1.40.