Brain white matter changespresent in parkinson's disease made visible through magnetic resonance imaging: an integrative review

Background: Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disease in which some brain structures are injured, requiring a technique that can analyze, in detail, grey and white matter in scans. This paper reports an integrative review undertaken to examine the scientific production related to cerebral white matter changes resulting from Parkinson's disease as identified through magnetic resonance imaging. Possible methods that can indicate disease progression in a clinically meaningful way. Method: This is a descriptive study of the integrative-review type in four databases from June and October 2017. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies were eligible for inclusion if they explored intermodal assessment, which included structural studies about magnetic resonance imaging and Parkinson's disease. Results: It was identified a total 4115 of articles. The analysis provided four thematic categories: (1) brain white matter changes in individuals with Parkinson's; (2) relationship between structural changes and the various damages caused; (3) differences present in brain scans of individuals with Parkinson's compared to other pathologies; and (4) the role of magnetic resonance imaging in Parkinson's disease. Conclusions: The advancement of imaging techniques allows an analysis of the anatomical aspects of the white matter in the brain. Magnetic resonance imaging can identify changes of cerebral white matter in patients with early-advanced Parkinson's disease by fractional anisotropy and increased mean diffusivity, mainly in the following areas: corpus callosum and the superior longitudinal fascicle. These changes may be associated with, for example, motor, cognitive, visual and olfactory impairment.