In 2011, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a brain imaging test called DaTscan to help diagnose Parkinson's disease (PD). DaTscan is a specific type of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging technique that helps the diagnosis of PD. In Parkinson's, dopamine cells in the brain break down and die. DaTscan uses small amounts of a radioactive drug to light up dopamine transporters, which move the chemical dopamine into cells when it's done working. In people with Parkinson's, DaTscan appears different because there are fewer dopamine cells and therefore less dopamine transporter activity. The active substance in DaTSCAN, ioflupane (123I), is a radiopharmaceutical. It contains a substance called ioflupane, which is labeled with 123I (iodine-123), a radioactive form of the chemical element iodine. Ioflupane attaches specifically to structures on the surface of nerve cell endings in the striatum that are responsible for the transport of dopamine. When DaTSCAN is injected, ioflupane (123I) is distributed through the body in the blood and accumulates in the striatum, where it attaches to the structures that transport dopamine. 

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