The use of relying on DAT Scan to confirm Parkinson's

[Harleyrider1]

I recently met with my movement disorder doctor who was unsure if I had Parkinson's, so she ordered a DAT Scan that indicated that I did not have Parkinson's, even though I display all the symptoms. I don't know how reliable this DAT Scan is in diagnosing my issues? I do have a 6-month follow-up appointment but not sure if she can diagnose anything different or help me?

[MBAnderson]

"While a DaTscan cannot diagnose PD, doctors use them to confirm a diagnosis. A negative DaTscan result does not rule out a Parkinson’s diagnosis, but a positive result helps confirm it. The problem with positive results is that it does not differentiate Parkinson’s disease from other forms of parkinsonism, such as multiple system atrophy (MSA) or progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), that can also produce a loss of dopamine in the brain. A positive DaTscan can differentiate PD from Essential Tremor (ET) as there is no dopamine deficiency in the latter."

parkinson.org/Understanding....

[jaybar in reply to MBAnderson]

Is a Dat scan the same as a PET scan in the US?

[MBAnderson in reply to jaybar]

Their answer is better than mine.

PET scans are FDA-approved for the diagnosis of dementia, but not for the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease.

parkinson.org/blog/whats-ho...

[park_bear]

One-sided resting tremor is pretty much unique to Parkinson's. If you have that symptom it is strong evidence. If you add to that dystonia and motor impairment on the same side, the evidence is even stronger.

[kevowpd]

"how reliable this DAT Scan is in diagnosing my issues"

Not very. Copy the below into google if youd like to read the source (from parkinsons.co.uk).

Systematic review evidence of the accuracy of DaTSCAN in diagnosing early Parkinson’s versus healthy normality reported low sensitivity from a single study of only 38%. In other words, most of those with early Parkinson’s had a normal DaTSCAN. There was no clear evidence that DaTSCAN is accurate in diagnosing early Parkinson’s.

Like everything else PD, you can find other papers that conclude the scan is more accurate but its not 100% at either positive or negative diagnosis. It gets better over time as the difference between a 'normal' and a PWP increases.

When you say "all the symptoms", can you list them? Or the 5 most troublesome?

[Sugarbear67]

My new Dr. in Texas where we just moved to had a DAT Scan done on me. The test came back Neg across the board but during the test they cut me off of my Carbidopa/Levodopa for 72 hrs. and by noon the first day off I was shuffling and had trouble doing anything . The second day I was falling and almost totally dysfunctional, on the third day I had the DAT Scan and got to take my C/L about 50-60 min later I was functional again. The Dr. told us I definitely had PD and the DAT Scan was just a tool.

[Gcf51]

When I had DaTscan I did not take my C/L before, even though I was not told to not take - I often wonder "what would have been results if I had taken".