Characterization of the nigroestriatal system in a sample of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Background: The coexistence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with clinical forms of Parkinson disease (PD), although uncommon, is found to a greater degree than one would expect by chance. The pathological mechanisms of ALS and PD are still not fully understood, and the coexistence of these two diseases suggests that they could share mechanisms in common.

Objective: Here we present a sample of patients with clinically definitive or probable ALS who were evaluated with single-photon emission computed tomography SPECT/TRODAT and compared with non-ALS controls.