Quantitative Evaluation of Substantia Nigra Degeneration in Parkinson’s Disease using T1 mapping

We evaluated the T1 values of the whole and subregions of the substantia nigra (SN) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) to identify an imaging biomarker for the early diagnosis of PD. T1 values of the SN of patients with PD were significantly shorter than those of healthy controls and tended to be longer in the lateral part for both groups. T1 values may reflect the pathology of the SN and help assess the degeneration of the SN caused by PD.