Dopamine transporter binding in the brain is linked to irritable bowel syndrome in Parkinson’s disease - ORIGINAL ARTICLE - Abstract

Sep 17, 2026

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Background: Gastrointestinal symptoms are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD), yet their neurophysiological correlates remain unclear. Methods: Ninety PD patients underwent DAT ǎ23 I-FP-CIT SPECT imaging and completed the MDS-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III, Rome III, and the Wexner constipation score. Dopamine transporter binding was computed by striatal subregions, with voxel-wise analyses relating gastrointestinal symptoms to striatal DAT and extrastriatal serotonin transporter (SERT) binding. Results: IBS criteria were met in 17 patients and associated with higher ǎ23 I-FP-CIT binding in the right posterior putamen and adjacent regions. No other significant DAT or SERT associations emerged.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Reading Time28 min

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Abstract

Background

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[https://helda.helsinki.fi](https://helda.helsinki.fi) Dopamine transporter binding in the brain is linked to irritable bowel syndrome in Parkinson's disease Murtomäki, Kirsi; Joutsa, Juho; Mertsalmi, Tuomas; Jaakkola, Elina; Mäkinen, Elina ... 2023-07 Wiley [http://hdl.handle.net/10138/563327](http://hdl.handle.net/10138/563327) Murtomäki, K, Joutsa, J, Mertsalmi, T, Jaakkola, E, Mäkinen, E, Levo, R, Eklund, M, Nuuttila, S, Pekkonen, E, Noponen, T, Ihalainen, T, Kaasinen, V & Scheperjans, F 2023,'Dopamine transporter binding in the brain is linked to irritable bowel syndrome in Parkinson's disease', Brain and Behavior, vol. 13, no. 7, e3097 . [https://doi.org/10.1002](https://doi.org/10.1002)[ ](https://doi.org/10.1002)[/brb3.3097](/brb3.3097) Downloaded from Helda, University of Helsinki institutional repository. [https://helda.helsinki.fi](https://helda.helsinki.fi)[ ](https://helda.helsinki.fi)[This is an electronic reprint of the original article.](This is an electronic reprint of the original article.) This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. Please cite the original version. Received: 9 February 2023 Revised: 17 May 2023 Accepted: 17 May 2023 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3097 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Dopamine transporter binding in the brain is linked to irritable bowel syndrome in Parkinson’s disease Kirsi Murtomäki1, 2 Juho Joutsa3,4, 5, 6 Tuomas Mertsalmi1, 2 Elina Jaakkola3,4 Elina Mäkinen1, 2, 3,4 Reeta Levo1, 2 Mikael Eklund3,4, 5, 6 Simo Nuuttila3,4 Eero Pekkonen1, 2 Tommi Noponen7, 8 Toni Ihalainen9 Valtteri Kaasinen3,4 Filip Scheperjans1, 2 1 Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland 2 Clinicum, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 3 Clinical Neurosciences, University of Turku, Turku, Finland 4 Neurocenter, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland 5Turku PET Centre, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland 6Turku Brain and Mind Center, University of Turku, Turku, Finland 7 Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland 8 Department of Medical Physics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland 9 Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland Correspondence Filip Scheperjans, Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, Haartmaninkatu 4, 00029 Helsinki, Finland. Email: fi[lip.scheperjans@hus.fi](lip.scheperjans@hus.fi) Funding information Academy of Finland, Grant/Award Numbers: 295724, 310835; Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, Grant/Award Numbers: UAK1014004, UAK1014005, TYH2018224; Finnish Medical Foundation; Finnish Parkinson Foundation; Turku University Hospital (VTR-funds); Päivikki and Sakari Sohlberg Foundation; Finnish Alcohol Research Foundation; Turku University Foundation/Kosti Hämmärö fund; Maire Taponen Foundation Abstract Background: Gastrointestinal symptoms are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but their neurophysiological correlates are not well understood. We recently reported that functional gastrointestinal symptoms were not associated with asymmetry per se but might be associated with lower left striatal dopamine transporter (DAT) binding. The purpose of this study was to further investigate if specific gastrointestinal symptoms associate with monoamine transporter changes in specificstriatal or extrastriatal areas. Methods: Ninety PD patients, who underwent DAT ź23 I-FP-CIT SPECT imaging, were assessed using the MDS-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III, Rome III, and Wexner constipation score. DAT binding was calculated from striatal subregions using region-to-occipital cortex ratio. Voxel-wise analysis was used to assess the relationship between gastrointestinal symptoms and striatal DAT and extrastriatal serotonin transporter (SERT) binding. Results: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) criteria were fulfil

FAQs

What was the study’s objective regarding gastrointestinal symptoms in Parkinson’s disease?

To determine whether specific gastrointestinal symptoms in PD are associated with changes in monoamine transporter binding in defined striatal or extrastriatal brain regions.

How were participants evaluated and how was binding measured?

Ninety PD patients had DAT ǎ23 I-FP-CIT SPECT imaging and were assessed using MDS-UPDRS part III, Rome III, and the Wexner constipation score. DAT binding was calculated from striatal subregions, and voxel-wise analyses tested links between gastrointestinal symptoms and DAT/SERT binding.

What did the study find about IBS and dopamine transporter binding?

Patients meeting IBS criteria showed higher ǎ23 I-FP-CIT binding in the right posterior putamen and neighboring areas compared with patients without IBS, with no other significant associations for DAT or SERT.

Sep 17, 2026

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