RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 123I-FP-CIT SPECT Imaging of Dopamine Transporters in Patients with Recurrent Sudden Falls: Are Such Falls a Distinct Entity? JF Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology JO J. Nucl. Med. Technol. FD Society of Nuclear Medicine SP 232 OP 236 DO 10.2967/jnmt.107.040238 VO 35 IS 4 A1 Ruth Djaldetti A1 Therese A. Treves A1 Ilan Ziv A1 Eldad Melamed A1 Mordechai Lorberboym YR 2007 UL http://tech.snmjournals.org/content/35/4/232.abstract AB Recurrent falls in older people are commonly associated with abnormalities that involve several parts of the central nervous system, especially with basal ganglion pathology. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the integrity of striatal dopamine transporters (DaTs) by use of 123I-N-3-fluoropropyl-2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)tropane (123I-FP-CIT) SPECT of striatal DaTs in patients with recurrent sudden falls. Methods: Twenty-one patients without a definite neurologic diagnosis for recurrent sudden falls were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. SPECT with a DaT ligand was performed 180 min after injection of 185 MBq of 123I-FP-CIT with a dual-head γ-camera. Results: DaT SPECT findings were normal in 15 of 21 patients (71%). Of those, 73% had abnormal MRI findings suggestive of atherosclerotic lesions. Eleven patients with normal DaT SPECT findings had mild parkinsonian symptoms. There was no correlation of the SPECT results with patient age, duration of occurrence of falls, or frequency of falls, and there was no significant difference in the relative distributions of SPECT findings between patients with and patients without parkinsonian symptoms or vascular risk factors. Conclusion: Recurrent sudden falls are, in most cases, not attributable to the degeneration of the nigrostriatal system.