[A case of familial juvenile dystonia-parkinsonism: 18F-6-fluorodopa and 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose PET study].

A 27-year-old Japanese woman was admitted to Kyoto University Hospital because of gait disturbance since age 25. Her elder sister had been suffering from childhood-onset dystonia-parkinsonism with diurnal fluctuation which initially responded well to levodopa therapy, but later larger dose of levodopa was needed because of severe treatment-related fluctuation of the clinical symptoms. Physical examination revealed left foot dystonia, mild parkinsonism with kinesie paradoxale and dyskinesia of lower limbs. Symptoms were relieved by sleep and worsened by walking. Laboratory data including serum ceruloplasmin, serum and urinary amino acid analysis, and hexosaminidase and beta-glucosidase activity in leukocytes were all normal. Homovanillic acid (HVA) in cerebrospinal fluid was normal (68 ng/ml) at 8 pm but markedly decreased (7 ng/ml) at 4 pm. Cranial MRI was normal. 18F-6-fluorodopa PET demonstrated decreased dopa uptake in the bilateral striatum, especially in the putamen. 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose PET showed decreased regional glucose metabolism in the bilateral putamen. Levodopa therapy rendered equivocal effects while trihexyphenydil was effective. This case indicated that some cases of dopa-unresponsive dystonia with parkinsonism might be a clinical variant of juvenile parkinsonism. 18F-6-fluorodopa PET is useful in evaluating juvenile dystonia-parkinsonism, though it may not predict levodopa effectiveness. 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose PET study will be helpful in predicting the effect of levodopa therapy, because decreased regional glucose metabolism in the putamen probably indicates poor response to levodopa. Further study including dopaminergic receptor imaging study is needed to clarify the physiological mechanism of co-existing dystonia and parkinsonism in patients with juvenile parkinsonism and related disorders.