EMG signal morphology and kinematic parameters in essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease patients

The aim of this work was to differentiate patients with essential tremor from patients with Parkinson’s disease. Electromyographic data from biceps brachii muscles and kinematic data from arms during isometric tension of the arms were measured from 17 patients with essential tremor, 35 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 40 healthy controls.The EMG signals were divided to smaller segments from which histograms were calculated. The histogram shape was analysed with a feature dimension reduction method, the principal component analysis, and the shape parameters were used to differentiate between different subject groups. Three parameters, RMS-amplitude, sample entropy and peak frequency were determined from the kinematic measurements of the arms.The height and the side differences of the histogram were the most effective for differentiating between essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease groups. The histogram parameters of patients with essential tremor were more similar to patients with Parkinson’s disease than healthy controls. With this method it was possible to discriminate 13/17 patients with essential tremor from 26/35 patients with Parkinson’s disease and 14/17 patients with essential tremor from 29/40 healthy controls. The kinematic parameters of patients with essential tremor were closer to parameters of patients with Parkinson’s disease compared to healthy controls. Combining EMG and kinematic analysis did not increase discrimination efficiency but provided more reliability to the discrimination of subject groups.     

Comparison of thiamazole pharmacokinetics in healthy individuals and patients with hyperthyroidism]

Pharmacokinetic parameters of thiamazole in hyperthyroid patients (40 subjects with Graves-Basedow disease--32 female and 8 male patients) and in healthy individuals (8 subjects--5 women and 3 men) were compared. A one-compartment model was used for the analysis of examined pharmacokinetic parameters. Area under thiamazole concentration curve (AUC) and thiamazole peak plasma concentration (cmax) were significantly decreased in hyperthyroid patients in comparison with healthy individuals. An analysis of other pharmacokinetic parameters suggests that observed differences seem to depend upon lowered and retarded thiamazole absorption from the gut and acceleration of drug metabolism in hepatic microsomal system in hyperthyroid patients.     

The relationship of the electrical reactions of the brain to lipid peroxidation processes in pathological aging

The content of breathing air pentane as in vivo index of lipid peroxidation and electrophysiological parameters (visual evoked potentials and direct current (DC) potential level) of healthy volunteers and patients with senile dementia and Alzheimer's disease following weak stress sound influence were investigated. Unlike healthy subjects correlation between stress-induced changes of pentane level and electrophysiological parameters for patients with psychopathology was shown.     

Novel parameters of surface EMG in patients with Parkinson’s disease and healthy young and old controls

The aim of this study was to evaluate a variety of traditional and novel surface electromyography (SEMG) characteristics of biceps brachii muscle in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and compare the results with the healthy old and young control subjects. Furthermore, the aim was to define the optimal biceps brachii loading level that would most likely differentiate patients from controls. The results indicated that such nonlinear SEMG parameters as %Recurrence, %Determinism and SEMG distribution kurtosis, correlation dimension and sample entropy were significantly different between the PD patients and healthy controls. These novel nonlinear parameters, unlike traditional spectral or amplitude parameters, correlated with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and finger tapping scores. The most significant between group differences were found in the loading condition where no additional weights were applied in isometric elbow flexion. No major difference of SEMG characteristics was detected between old and young control subjects. In conclusion, the novel SEMG parameters can differentiate the patients with PD from healthy control subjects and these parameters may have potential in the assessment of the severity of PD.     

Correlation between Acoustic Characteristics of Forced Expiratory Tracheal Noises and Lung Function Parameters in Healthy Subjects and Patients with Obstructive Lung Diseases

The correlations between acoustic characteristics and lung function parameters measured by body plethysmography were revealed when analyzing the sample of 230 subjects consisting of subgroups of healthy subjects, subjects with risk factors, and patients with obstructive lung diseases. Multidirectional character of the correlations between acoustic characteristics of forced expiratory tracheal sounds and parameters measured by body plethysmography/spirometry was established in subgroups of healthy subjects, asthma patients with spirometrically confirmed and unconfirmed obstructive changes, and patients with chronic pulmonary disease.     

Insertion-deletion polymorphism of the serotonin carrier gene and evaluation of neurotism as a temperament trait in patients with affective disorders and mentally healthy people]

Some studies associate the insertion/deletion polymorphism of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene with anxiety-related personality traits in mentally healthy people, the short (s) allele being associated with a higher neuroticism score. The 5-HTT genotype and neuroticism score were established for 114 affective patients, 87 healthy relatives of endogenous psychosis patients, and for 156 mentally healthy people without familial psychiatric history. The effects of sex and age on the association between the two parameters was studied. Neuroticism proved to be not associated with the 5-HTT genotype.     

Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism of the Serotonin Transporter Gene and Neuroticism as a Temperament Trait in Affective Patients and Healthy Individuals

Some studies associate the insertion/deletion polymorphism of the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene with anxiety-related personality traits in mentally healthy people, the short (s) allele being associated with a higher neuroticism score. The 5-HTT genotype and neuroticism score were established for 114 affective patients, 87 healthy relatives of endogenous psychosis patients, and for 156 mentally healthy people without familial psychiatric history. The effects of sex and age on the association between the two parameters was studied. Neuroticism proved to be not associated with the 5-HTT genotype.     

Prevalence, risk factors and rheological profile of arterial vascular disease; first results of the Aachen study

During a prospective cohort-study of several year's duration the results of a survey regarding prevalence of arterial occlusive disease, as well as classical risk factors and rheological profile of patients suffering from vascular disease were examined. 364 patients out of a total of 2,498 individuals suffered from vascular disease. 168 (6.7%) had cardiovascular, 151 (6.0%) cerebrovascular and 109 (4.4%) peripheral vascular disease. Compared to to healthy individuals, the patients showed a significant accumulation of classical risk factors (elevated cholesterol and triglyceride values, decreased HDL-cholesterol concentration, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, gout or diabetes mellitus). Only 30.2% of the healthy controls presented two or more risk factors, whereas the angiological patients showed two or more risk factors in 71.9%. Rheological parameters measured in the survey were: Plasma viscosity, erythrocyte and platelet aggregation, erythrocyte rigidity and hematocrit. Only 14.2% of the healthy individuals had two or more rheological parameters exceeding the 1-s range, whereas 56.6% of the patients showed two or more elevated rheological parameters.     

Extended Timed Up & Go test: Is walking forward and returning back to the chair equivalent gait?

The Timed Up & Go test (TUG) is functional test and is a part of routine clinical examinations. The instrumented Timed Up & Go test enables its segmentation to sub-tasks: sit-to-stand, walking forward, turning, walking back, stand-to-sit, and consequently the computation of task-specific parameters and sub-tasks separately. However, there are no data on whether walking forward parameters differ from the walking back parameters. This study tested the differences between walking forward and walking back in the TUG extended to 10 m for 17 spatio-temporal gait parameters. All parameters were obtained from a GAITRite® pressure sensitive walkway (CIR Systems, Inc.). The differences were assessed for healthy controls and Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. None of investigated parameters exhibited a difference between both gait subtasks for healthy subjects group. Five parameters of interest, namely velocity, step length, stride length, stride velocity, and the proportion of the double support phase with respect to gait cycle duration, showed a statistically significant difference between gait for walking forward and walking back in PD patients. Therefore, we recommend a separate assessment for walking forward and walking back rather than averaging both gaits together.     

高血压患者脉搏波参数与脉搏波传导速度的相关性研究

目的:探讨高血压患者脉搏波参数与脉搏波传导速度的相关性,为从脉图上辨识高血压病及脉搏波参数的拓展应用提供参考。方法:选择2012年6月至2013年6月在北京安贞医院和北京人民医院门诊和住院确诊的原发性高血压患者32例作为实验组,并招募健康成人志愿者29例作为对照组。利用中医四诊合参辅助诊疗仪与皮尺分别采集两组受试者的左侧寸口脉图信息和主动脉至桡动脉的血管长度,计算脉搏波参数及脉搏波传导速度,采用方差分析和皮尔逊简单相关的统计方法分析高血压患者不同的脉搏波参数与其脉搏波传导速度的相关性。结果:与对照组比较,实验组的PWV显著升高,有显著性差异(P0.05)。实验组H2/H1明显高于对照组(P0.05),但H4/H1、T1/T、T2/T比值均显著低于对照组(P0.05),差异均有显著性意义(P0.05)。高血压患者的H2/H1、T1/T、T2/T、H4/H1均与其PWV相关,其中H2/H1与PWV呈显著正相关(P0.05),T1/T、T2/T与PWV呈显著负相关(P0.05),H4/H1与PWV呈一般正相关(P0.05)。结论:高血压患者的脉搏波参数与脉搏波传导速度具有显著相关性,且潮波出现的幅值与脉搏波传导速度有显著正相关;脉搏波上升支和潮波的时值与脉搏波传导速度具有显著负相关,重搏波相对高度与脉搏波传导速度具有一般相关关系,因而可通过脉搏波参数的变化了解高血压患者血管弹性的状态。     

Hydrodynamic and Longitudinal Impedance Analysis of Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics at the Craniovertebral Junction in Type I Chiari Malformation

Elevated or reduced velocity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) has been associated with type I Chiari malformation (CMI). Thus, quantification of hydrodynamic parameters that describe the CSF dynamics could help assess disease severity and surgical outcome. In this study, we describe the methodology to quantify CSF hydrodynamic parameters near the CVJ and upper cervical spine utilizing subject-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations based on in vivo MRI measurements of flow and geometry. Hydrodynamic parameters were computed for a healthy subject and two CMI patients both pre- and post-decompression surgery to determine the differences between cases. For the first time, we present the methods to quantify longitudinal impedance (LI) to CSF motion, a subject-specific hydrodynamic parameter that may have value to help quantify the CSF flow blockage severity in CMI. In addition, the following hydrodynamic parameters were quantified for each case: maximum velocity in systole and diastole, Reynolds and Womersley number, and peak pressure drop during the CSF cardiac flow cycle. The following geometric parameters were quantified: cross-sectional area and hydraulic diameter of the spinal subarachnoid space (SAS). The mean values of the geometric parameters increased post-surgically for the CMI models, but remained smaller than the healthy volunteer. All hydrodynamic parameters, except pressure drop, decreased post-surgically for the CMI patients, but remained greater than in the healthy case. Peak pressure drop alterations were mixed. To our knowledge this study represents the first subject-specific CFD simulation of CMI decompression surgery and quantification of LI in the CSF space. Further study in a larger patient and control group is needed to determine if the presented geometric and/or hydrodynamic parameters are helpful for surgical planning.     

Internal synchronization of the main 0.1-Hz rhythms in the autonomic control of the cardiovascular system

Synchronization parameters of 0.1-Hz rhythms isolated from the heart rate and the oscillations of the blood volume in microcirculatory vessels were studied in 12 healthy subjects and 32 patients with acute myocardial infarction. Recordings of the electrocardiogram and the pulsogram from the distal phalanx of the index finger, as well as mechanical recording of respiration with the body in a horizontal position, were performed. In patients with myocardial infarction, the recordings were performed during the first three to five days and the third week after the infarction. Synchronization was tested by plotting phase differences and calculating the total percentage of phase synchronization. Synchronization parameters of 0.1-Hz rhythms were high in healthy subjects. In patients with acute myocardial infarction, synchronization of 0.1-Hz rhythms was considerably poorer. The data obtained suggest that the studied 0.1-Hz rhythms are two independent oscillatory processes that are synchronized in healthy subjects. However, this interaction may be disturbed in cardiovascular pathologies, e.g., myocardial infarction.     

Characterization of Monoclonal Gammopathy of Undetermined Significance by Calorimetric Analysis of Blood Serum Proteome

Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) is a premalignant proliferative disorder that may progress to multiple myeloma, a malignant plasma cell neoplasia. We evaluated differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) as an experimental tool for differentiating serum samples of MGUS patients from healthy individuals. DSC thermograms can be used for monitoring changes in the serum proteome associated with MGUS. MGUS patients showed great variability in serum thermogram characteristics, which depended on the IgG, IgA or IgM isotypes and/or the κ or λ light chains. Thermogram feature parameters distinguished patients with MGUS from healthy people. Serum samples, named as non-MGUS, were also collected from patients with subjacent immunological pathologies who were discarded of having MGUS through serum immunofixation. They were used to verify the sensitivity of DSC for discriminating MGUS from related blood dyscrasias. Only some DSC thermogram feature parameters differentiated, to a lesser extent, between MGUS and non-MGUS individuals. We contemplate DSC as a tool for early diagnosis and monitoring of MGUS.     

Characteristics of ventilatory control during exercise in coronary heart disease patients

The relationship between the carbon dioxide ventilatory equivalent and hemodynamic parameters during exercise was studied in healthy subjects and coronary heart disease (CHD) patients. Gas exchange, ventilatory control, and central hemodynamics during graded exercise were analyzed in 85 subjects, including 32 healthy subjects and 53 CHD patients. Twenty-seven CHD patients had coronary insufficiency but not heart failure and had a left ventricle ejection fraction of ≥50%; 26 patients had chronic heart failure and an ejection fraction of <40%. A high carbon dioxide ventilatory equivalent and its disturbed response (a decrease below 20%) with an increase in physical load, which reflects an imbalance of ventilatory control with decreased parameters of maximum oxygen consumption and hemodynamics, allows the ventilatory equivalent to be used as a marker for stratifying CHD patients with chronic heart failure.     

Dynamic Stability and Risk of Tripping during the Timed Up and Go Test in Hemiparetic and Healthy Subjects

Background

The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is often used to estimate risk of falls. Foot clearance and displacement of the center of mass (COM), which are related to risk of tripping and dynamic stability have never been evaluated during the TUG. Accurate assessment of these parameters using instrumented measurements would provide a comprehensive assessment of risk of falls in hemiparetic patients. The aims of this study were to analyze correlations between TUG performance time and displacement of the COM and foot clearance in patients with stroke-related hemiparesis and healthy subjects during the walking and turning sub-tasks of the TUG and to compare these parameters between fallers and non-fallers.

Methods

29 hemiparetic patients and 25 healthy subjects underwent three-dimensional gait analysis during the TUG test. COM and foot clearance were analyzed during the walking and turning sub-tasks of the TUG.

Results

Lateral displacement of the COM was greater and faster during the walking sub-tasks and vertical displacement of the COM was greater during the turn in the patients compared to the healthy subjects (respectively p<0.01 and p<0.05). Paretic foot clearance was greater during walking and displacement of the COM was slower during the turn in the patients (p<0.01). COM displacement and velocity during the turn were correlated with TUG performance in the patients, however, vertical COM displacement was not. These correlations were significant in the healthy subjects. There were no differences between COM parameters or foot clearance in fallers and non-fallers.

Discussion and Conclusion

Hemiparetic patients are less stable than healthy subjects, but compensate with a cautious gait to avoid tripping. Instrumented analysis of the TUG test appears relevant for the assessment of dynamic stability in hemiparetic patients, providing more information than straight-line gait.     

Early disturbance of the circadian rhythm of T and B lymphocytes in human immunodeficiency virus infection

Circadian rhythms in circulating B and T (CD3, CD4, CD8) lymphocyte subsets and in plasma cortisol were studied in 13 HIV-infected men and 14 healthy male controls. The circadian maximum (acrophase) of plasma cortisol was similar in both groups, approximately 8.00 A.M., however, a statistically significant increase was found in the 24 hour-mean value (mesor) of infected patients as compared to healthy controls. Circadian rhythms were statistically validated in all lymphocyte subsets of healthy controls, whereas, large alterations were found in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), already in asymptomatic infected individuals. The alterations concern the mesor and the amplitude for B and CD4 lymphocytes and all cycle parameters for CD3 and CD8 lymphocytes.     

Locomotor Trajectories of Stroke Patients during Oriented Gait and Turning

Background

The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is widely used to assess locomotion in patients with stroke and is considered to predict the risk of falls. The analysis of locomotor trajectories during the TUG appears pertinent in stroke patients. The aims of this study were i) to analyze locomotor trajectories in patients with stroke during the walking and turning sub-tasks of the TUG, and to compare them with healthy subjects, ii) to determine whether trajectory parameters provide additional information to that provided by the conventional measure (performance time), iii) to compare the trajectory parameters of fallers and non-fallers with stroke and of patients with right and left hemisphere stroke, and iv) to evaluate correlations between trajectory parameters and Berg Balance Scale scores.

Methods

29 patients with stroke (mean age 54.2±12.2 years, 18 men, 8 fallers) and 25 healthy subjects (mean age 51.6±8.7 years, 11 men) underwent three-dimensional analysis of the TUG. The trajectory of the center of mass was analyzed by calculation of the global trajectory length, Hausdorff distance and Dynamic Time Warping. The parameters were compared with a reference trajectory during the total task and each sub-task (Go, Turn, Return) of the TUG.

Results

Values of trajectory parameters were significantly higher for the stroke group during the total TUG and the Go and Turn sub-tasks (p<0.05). Moreover, logistic regression indicated that these parameters better discriminated stroke patients and healthy subjects than the conventional timed performance during the Go sub-task. In addition, fallers were distinguished by higher Dynamic Time Warping during the Go (p<0.05). There were no differences between patients with right and left hemisphere stroke.

Discussion and Conclusion

The trajectories of the stroke patients were longer and more deviated during the turn and the preceding phase. Trajectory parameters provided additional information to timed performance of this locomotor task. Focusing rehabilitation programs on lead-up to turn and turning could be relevant for stroke patients since the Turn was related to the balance and the phase preceding the turn seemed to distinguish fallers.     

Plasma Levels of Resistin and Ghrelin Before and After Treatment in Patients With Hyperthyroidism

ObjectiveTo investigate ghrelin and resistin concentrations in patients with hyperthyroidism before and after restoration to a euthyroid state and to correlate the 2 peptides with anthropometric and insulin resistance parameters.MethodsThe study included hyperthyroid patients and euthyroid healthy participants as a control group. Hyperthyroid patients were evaluated at the start of the study and after normalization of thyroid function with appropriate antithyroid drugs. Anthropometric parameters, insulin resistance parameters (fasting blood glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance), thyroid function tests, and measurement of ghrelin and resistin were assessed in patients and control participants.ResultsThe study included 40 hyperthyroid patients (32 women and 8 men, aged 26-42 years) and 30 euthyroid healthy participants (20 women and 10 men, aged 25-43 years) as a control group. In hyperthyroid patients, serum resistin levels and insulin resistance parameters werehigher and plasma ghrelin levels were lower than in control participants (P <.001), and all normalized after treatment. Ghrelin levels were correlated only with insulin resistance parameters, but no correlations with any anthropometric or laboratory data were found. Resistin levels did not correlate with any clinical or laboratory data of hyperthyroid patients.ConclusionIn hyperthyroid patients, resistin was increased and ghrelin was decreased, they were not related to anthropometric parameters, and they normalized after treatment of hyperthyroidism. (Endocr Pract. 2012;18:376-381)     

Respiratory system stability and abnormal carbon dioxide homeostasis.

We have tested the hypothesis that interactions among eight parameters of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems that determine the loop gain (LG) of the respiratory CO2 feedback control system might account for the degree of stability or instability of breathing patterns in healthy sleeping volunteers as well as in familial dysautonomia (FD) and congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) patients. The predictability of cycle duration was tested as well. We measured the values of CO2 sensitivity, CO2 delivery capacity in the circulation, circulation delay, mean lung volume for CO2, and mixed venous PCO2 in 8 FD patients, 2 CCHS patients, and 19 healthy controls. The values of these parameters were used in a mathematical model to compute the LG of the respiratory control system during sleep for each epoch of respiration analyzed. The strength of the ventilatory oscillations (R) was quantified using power density spectra of the ventilation time series. All subjects were studied at inspiratory O2 concentrations (FIO2) of 0.21 and 0.15; CCHS patients and controls were also studied at 0.12 FIO2 to examine the effect of steady-state hypoxia on respiratory system stability. In 2 FD patients, LG was elevated at both levels of FIO2 and periodic breathing was observed; the values of R were elevated. Elevated mixed venous PCO2 and reduced CO2 delivery capacity were chiefly responsible for the abnormally high LG observed. In three healthy volunteers, high LG and unstable patterns were associated with high chemosensitivity. The CCHS patients, however, remained stable even at 0.12 FIO2 because LG remained equivalent to zero due to a lack of chemosensitivity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Evaluation of glucose utilization in patients with insulin-independent diabetes mellitus by using breathing test

Commonly used clinical and biochemical parameters, such as the content of glucose, insulin, somatotropic hormone, triglycerides, lactate, pyruvate, and free fatty acids (FFA) in blood of practically healthy subjects and in patients with insulin-independent diabetes mellitus (IIDM), were compared with the parameters obtained by mass-spectrometric analysis of 13CO2 in expired air after 13C-glucose loading. It was shown that, as opposed to healthy subjects, the content of blood glucose and free fatty acids in patients with IIDM increased, the level of glucose dropped in progression upon short-term fasting, and the concentration of lactate changed both upon fasting and after the administration of small test doses of glucose. The use of the 13C-glucose breathing test (13C-GBT), which presupposes the loading of safe small doses of glucose enriched in 13C-isotope permitted one to reveal a number of novel quantitative diagnostic criteria for the evaluation of glucose metabolism in patients with IIDM: a decrease in the rate of 13C withdrawal as a constituent of expired carbon dioxide after the administration of 13C-glucose; a reduction in the amount of exogenous glucose metabolized to carbon dioxide; and increased oxidation of endogenous substrates participating in carbon dioxide formation. Small glucose loads proposed by the authors in 13C-GBT are safe for patients with diabetes mellitus and have no effect on the level of blood glucose in healthy persons. The parameters determined by noninvasive 13C-GBT are more sensitive for diagnosis than commonly used biochemical characteristics of blood in patients with IIDM. The diagnostic criteria obtained allow the prediction of the maximum prohibited glucose loading for every patient.