Dopamine Agonists and their risk to induce psychotic episodes in Parkinson's disease: a case-control study

Background  

Psychosis is rare in untreated patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) but the prevalence rises to 40% during dopaminergic treatment. So far, no systematic comparison of the psychogenic potential of different dopaminergic drugs had been performed.     

A cross-sectional study of the nutritional status of community-dwelling people with idiopathic Parkinson's disease

Background  

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have an increased risk of under-nutrition, but we are unaware of any population based prevalence studies of under-nutrition in PD. The main objective of this study was to identify the prevalence, and nature, of under-nutrition in a representative population of people with PD.     

Design and baseline characteristics of the ParkFit study,a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a multifaceted behavioral program to increase physical activity in Parkinson patients

Background  

Many patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) lead a sedentary lifestyle. Promotion of physical activities may beneficially affect the clinical presentation of PD, and perhaps even modify the course of PD. However, because of physical and cognitive impairments, patients with PD require specific support to increase their level of physical activity.     

The soluble biomarker calprotectin (a S100 protein) is associated to ultrasonographic synovitis scores and is sensitive to change in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with adalimumab

Introduction  

Calprotectin (MRP8/MRP14, S100A8/A9) is associated with disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Ultrasonography (US) is a reliable method for evaluation of synovitis (B-mode (BM) and power Doppler (PD)). The present objectives were to explore in RA patients the associations between calprotectin and a comprehensive US examination, as well as the responsiveness of calprotectin compared to other inflammatory markers during anti-TNF treatment.     

Risk of Parkinson's disease after tamoxifen treatment

Background

Women have a reduced risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD) compared with age-matched men. Neuro-protective effects of estrogen potentially explain this difference. Tamoxifen, commonly used in breast cancer treatment, may interfere with the protective effects of estrogen and increase risk of PD. We compared the rate of PD in Danish breast cancer patients treated with tamoxifen to the rate among those not treated with tamoxifen.

Methods

A cohort of 15,419 breast cancer patients identified from the Danish Breast Cancer Collaborative Group database was linked to the National Registry of Patients to identify PD diagnoses. Overall risk and rate of PD following identification into the study was compared between patients treated with tamoxifen as adjuvant hormonal therapy and patients not receiving tamoxifen. Time-dependent effects of tamoxifen treatment on PD rate were examined to estimate the likely induction period for tamoxifen.

Results

In total, 35 cases of PD were identified among the 15,419 breast cancer patients. No overall effect of tamoxifen on rate of PD was observed (HR = 1.3, 95% CI: 0.64-2.5), but a PD hazard ratio of 5.1 (95% CI: 1.0-25) was seen four to six years following initiation of tamoxifen treatment.

Conclusions

These results provide evidence that the neuro-protective properties of estrogen against PD occurrence may be disrupted by tamoxifen therapy. Tamoxifen treatments may be associated with an increased rate of PD; however these effects act after four years, are of limited duration, and the adverse effect is overwhelmed by the protection against breast recurrence conferred by tamoxifen therapy.

     

Meta-analysis of the literature on diagnostic accuracy of SPECT in parkinsonian syndromes

Background  

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. One of the most widely used techniques to diagnose PD is a Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography (SPECT) scan to visualise the integrity of the dopaminergic pathways in the brain. Despite this there remains some discussion on the value of SPECT in the differential diagnosis of PD. We did a meta-analysis of all the existing literature on the diagnostic accuracy of both pre- and post-synaptic SPECT imaging in the differential diagnosis of PD.     

The quality of care delivered to Parkinson's disease patients in the U.S. Pacific Northwest Veterans Health System

Background  

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common chronic neurological disorder of the elderly. Despite the fact that a comprehensive review of general health care in the United States showed that the quality of care delivered to patients usually falls below professional standards, there is limited data on the quality of care for patients with PD.     

Proteome analysis of human substantia nigra in Parkinson's disease

Background  

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder involving the motor system. Although not being the only region involved in PD, affection of the substantia nigra and its projections is responsible for some of the most debilitating features of the disease. To further advance a comprehensive understanding of nigral pathology, we conducted a tissue based comparative proteome study of healthy and diseased human substantia nigra.     

Proteomics analysis of the peritoneal dialysate effluent reveals the presence of calcium-regulation proteins and acute inflammatory response

Background

Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is a form of renal replacement used for advanced chronic kidney disease. PD effluent holds a great potential for biomarker discovery for diagnosis and prognosis. In this study a novel approach to unravelling the proteome of PD effluent based-on dithiothreitol depletion followed by 2D-SDS-PAGE and protein identification using tandem mass spectrometry is proposed.

Results

A total of 49 spots were analysed revealing 25 proteins differentially expressed, among them many proteins involved in calcium regulation.

Conclusions

Remarkably, a group of proteins dealing with calcium metabolism and calcium regulation has been found to be lost through peritoneal dialysate effluent, giving thus a potential explanation to the calcification of soft tissues in patients subjected to peritoneal dialysis and kidney injury. Comparison of literature dealing with PD is difficult due to differences in sample treatment and analytical methodologies.     

Protocol of a prospective study on the diagnostic value of transcranial duplex scanning of the substantia nigra in patients with parkinsonian symptoms

Background  

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. As there is no definitive diagnostic test, its diagnosis is based on clinical criteria. Recently transcranial duplex scanning (TCD) of the substantia nigra in the brainstem has been proposed as an instrument to diagnose PD. We and others have found that TCD scanning of substantia nigra duplex is a relatively accurate diagnostic instrument in patients with parkinsonian symptoms. However, all studies on TCD so far have involved well-defined, later-stage PD patients, which will obviously lead to an overestimate of the diagnostic accuracy of TCD.     

Shape (but not volume) changes in the thalami in Parkinson disease

Background  

Recent pathological studies have suggested that thalamic degeneration may represent a site of non-dopaminergic degeneration in Parkinson's Disease (PD). Our objective was to determine if changes in the thalami could be non-invasively detected in structural MRI images obtained from subjects with Parkinson disease (PD), compared to age-matched controls.     

Single and dual task gait training in people with Parkinson's Disease: A protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background  

Difficulty performing more than one task at a time (dual tasking) is a common and disabling problem experienced by people with Parkinson disease (PD). If asked to perform another task when walking, people with PD often take shorter steps or walk more slowly. Currently there is uncertainty about whether clinicians should teach people with PD to avoid dual tasking or whether they should encourage them to practice dual tasking with the hope that practice will lead to enhanced performance. This study will address this issue by comparing single to dual task gait training.     

Oxidative stress in skin fibroblasts cultures from patients with Parkinson's disease

Background  

In the substantia nigra of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, increased lipid peroxidation, decreased activities of the mitochondrial complex I of the respiratory chain, catalase and glutathione-peroxidase, and decreased levels of reduced glutathione have been reported. These observations suggest that oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction play a role in the neurodegeneration in PD. We assessed enzymatic activities of respiratory chain and other enzymes involved in oxidative processes in skin fibroblasts cultures of patients with PD.     

Abnormal susceptibility to distracters hinders perception in early stage Parkinson's disease: a controlled study

Background  

One of the perceptual abnormalities observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) is a deficit in the suppression of reflexive saccades that are automatically triggered by the onset of a peripheral target. Impairment of substantia nigra function is thought to lead to this reduced ability to suppress reflexive saccades.     

Role of the H1 haplotype of microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene in Greek patients with Parkinson's disease

Background  

The extended tau haplotype (H1) that covers the entire human microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene has been implicated in Parkinson's disease (PD). Nevertheless, controversial results, such as two studies in Greek populations with opposite effects, have been reported. Therefore, we set out to determine whether the H1 haplotype and additional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) included in H1 are associated with PD in a sample of Greek patients.     

Enhanced catecholamine transporter binding in the locus coeruleus of patients with early Parkinson disease

Background  

Studies in animals suggest that the noradrenergic system arising from the locus coeruleus (LC) and dopaminergic pathways mutually influence each other. Little is known however, about the functional state of the LC in patients with Parkinson disease (PD).     

Association of HFE common mutations with Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment in a Portuguese cohort

Background  

Pathological brain iron deposition has been implicated as a source of neurotoxic reactive oxygen species in Alzheimer (AD) and Parkinson diseases (PD). Iron metabolism is associated with the gene hemochromatosis (HFE Human genome nomenclature committee ID:4886), and mutations in HFE are a cause of the iron mismetabolism disease, hemochromatosis. Several reports have tested the association of HFE variants with neurodegenerative diseases, such as AD and PD with conflicting results.     

An optimised system for refolding of human glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase

Background  

Human glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), active in both dimer and tetramer forms, is the key entry enzyme in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP), providing NADPH for biosynthesis and various other purposes, including protection against oxidative stress in erythrocytes. Accordingly haemolytic disease is a major consequence of G6PD deficiency mutations in man, and many severe disease phenotypes are attributed to G6PD folding problems. Therefore, a robust refolding method with high recovery yield and reproducibility is of particular importance to study those clinical mutant enzymes as well as to shed light generally on the refolding process of large multi-domain proteins.     

Efficacy and acceptability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for the treatment of depression in Parkinson's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background  

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed antidepressants for the treatment of depression in patients with Parkinson's Disease (PD) but data on their efficacy are controversial.