Find out how to prepare for your scan, what diagnostic equipment we use, and get answers to any questions you may have.
New diagnostic possibilities
PARKINSON’S DISEASE
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
To book an appointment, please send your referral to the following email address:
The DaTSCAN scan is used to detect the loss of nerve cells in an area of the brain known as the striatum, in particular dopamine-releasing cells.
This test is used to diagnose the following conditions in adults (aged 18 and over):
The active substance in DaTSCAN, joflupan (123I), is a radiopharmaceutical. Joflupan binds specifically to structures on the surface of nerve cell terminals in the striatum: it visualises presynaptic dopamine uptake within the structures of the substantia nigra in the midbrain.
Degenerative changes observed, for example, in Parkinson’s disease lead to the destruction of dopaminergic neurons; they cause abnormalities in the accumulation of the tracer in the striatum and basal ganglia.
SPECT technology and state-of-the-art software make it possible to assess functional deficits in dopamine uptake even at an early stage of the disease.
In patients with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, and in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, there is a loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the striatum.
This makes it possible to distinguish Parkinson’s-related disorders from essential tremor, and dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer’s disease.
You do not need to fast before the test – you may eat and drink, but you must not take any medicines or substances such as:
Bupropion
5 days before the test
Buspiron
2.5 days before the test
Metylofenidat
15 hours before the test
Sertraline
5.5 days before the test
Preparaty typu Gripex zawierające efedrynę, pseudoefedrynę
24 hours before the test
Medicines that do not affect the course of the study are: dopamine agonists and antagonists acting at the level of postsynaptic dopamine receptors, and pergolide – there is no need to stop taking them.
The time spent at the Studio, from the moment you check in until you leave to go home, is approximately 8–9 hours. Please be patient; you may bring a drink, something to eat, a book, a magazine, a tablet, etc.
Once the registration formalities have been completed, as part of the preparation for the scan, the patient will be given 4 ml of Lugol’s solution to drink; an intravenous cannula will be inserted, through which, approximately 1 hour after drinking the solution, the radiopharmaceutical will be administered, and it will be absorbed over a period of approximately 4 hours.
Only after this time will the patient undergo the examination, which lasts approximately 1 hour.
After the examination, the intravenous cannula will be removed and the patient will be able to leave the examination room.
Test results can be collected in person from the clinic: Monday to Friday, 7.00 am to 8.00 pm
The most common side effects associated with the use of DaTSCAN (observed in 1 to 10 patients in 100) are: increased appetite, headaches, tingling on or under the skin, and dizziness. The risk associated with radioactivity is considered to be very low.
DaTSCAN must not be administered to patients who may be hypersensitive or allergic to joflupan or any of the product’s ingredients. The product must not be used in pregnant women.
A DaTSCAN scan, which is reimbursed by the National Health Fund (NFZ), may be referred by a specialist neurologist or neurosurgeon with at least five years’ experience in treating patients with parkinsonism.
A referral for a test may be issued by a specialist clinic or by a ward following the patient’s discharge from hospital.
Please note!
Our MCD Voxel centre in Katowice also offers differential diagnosis for patients with dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer’s disease.
Myocardial scintigraphy using 123I-MIBG allows for the quantitative assessment of the sympathetic innervation of the heart’s ganglionic system. In Lewy body dementia, this innervation is reduced. This test has a sensitivity of 69% and a specificity of 87% in distinguishing probable Lewy body dementia from probable Alzheimer’s disease.
The procedure is reimbursed; a referral may be issued by a specialist in any field of medicine.
