Table 6.

CEST/APT and DTI parameters values in the globus pallidus for normal controls and PD patients at different stages.

		Normal (n = 23)	Early-stage PD (n = 12)	Advanced-stage PD (n = 11)	Tests of homogeneity of variances P values	ANOVA			Multiple comparisons P values (95% confidence interval)
						df	F	P values
CEST/APT	MTRasym(3.5 ppm)	0.68 ± 0.17	0.89 ± 0.14	0.78 ± 0.20	0.065	2	1.470	0.236	0.212 (−0.51, 0.09), 0.739 (−0.24, 0.45), 0.703 (−0.41, 0.20)
	${\text{MTR}}_{\text{asym}}^{\text{total}}$	2.20 ± 0.29	2.60 ± 0.58	2.34 ± 0.53	0.827	2	0.927	0.400	0.366 (−1.09, 0.30), 0.731 (−0.55, 1.07), 0.889 (−0.85, 0.58)
DTI	FA	0.25 ± 0.01	0.23 ± 0.03	0.24 ± 0.03	0.162	2	1.284	0.282	0.294 (−0.01, 0.06), 0.921 (−0.05, 0.04), 0.565 (−0.02, 0.05)
	MD	0.70 ± 0.03	0.71 ± 0.04	0.73 ± 0.04	0.751	2	1.076	0.345	0.849 (−0.07, 0.04), 0.691 (−0.09, 0.04), 0.312 (−0.10, 0.02)

MTR_asym(3.5 ppm) was quantified by % water signal intensity. ${\mathit{\text{MTR}}}_{\mathit{\text{asym}}}^{\mathit{\text{total}}}$ was defined as the integral of the MTR_asym spectrum in the range of 0–4 ppm. FA, fractional anisotropy; MD, mean diffusivity. Three P values in multiple comparisons corresponded to the results between normal controls and early-stage PD patients, between early-stage and advanced-stage PD patients, as well as between normal controls and advanced-stage PD patients, respectively. Bold indicates significant change.