Transcranial Ultrasound in movement disorders - a review

Resumo

Background Transcranial Sonography (TCS) is a neuroimaging method at the neurologist's fingertips. The most widely recognized application of sonography of the brain parenchyma is the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Improvements in the B-mode (bidimensional) technique allied to advances in signal processing have refined the image resolution allowing many specific brain structures to be studied with the method.

Objectives In this paper we will provide up-to-date information about main uses of TCS in the diagnostic approach of patients presenting with different movement disorders.

Methods We performed a comprehensive literature review about the researches on the main applications of TCS for neurological practice focussing on parenchymal evaluation in movement disorders.

Results We describe the main findings of TCS in PD, Essential Tremor, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy, Multiple System Atrophy, Lewy Body Disease, Drug-induced parkinsonism, Vascular parkinsonism, Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, Wilson's disease, Huntington's disease and cerebellar ataxias.

Conclusions TCS has collected significant attention in Neurology due to its non-invasiveness, safety, and cost-effectiveness. We reviewed high quality TCS research that showed good sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing movement disorders. Although still restricted to research centers around the world, TCS has the potential to become a practical diagnostic screening tool for neurologists, particularly in resource-limited settings where other imaging modalities may not be available.