CBF Tomograms with [99mTc-HM-PAO in Patients with Dementia (Alzheimer Type and HIV) and Parkinson's Disease—Initial Results

We present preliminary data on the utility of functional brain imaging with [99mTc]– d,l-HM-PAO and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the study of patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT), HIV-related dementia syndrome, and the “on–off” syndrome of Parkinson's disease. In comparison with a group of age-matched controls, the DAT patients revealed distinctive bilateral temporal and posterior parietal deficits, which correlate with detailed psychometric evaluation. Patients with amnesia as the main symptom (group A) showed bilateral mesial temporal lobe perfusion deficits ( p < 0.02), More severely affected patients (group B) with significant apraxia, aphasia, or agnosia exhibited patterns compatible with bilateral reduced perfusion in the posterior parietal cortex, as well as reduced perfusion to both temporal lobes, different from the patients of the control group ( p < 0.05). SPECT studies of HIV patients with no evidence of intracraneal space occupying pathology showed marked perfusion deficits. Patients with Parkinson's disease and the “on–off” syndrome studied during an “on” phase (under levodopa therapy) and on another occasion after withdrawal of levodopa (“off”) demonstrated a significant change in the uptake of [99mTc]– d,l-HM-PAO in the caudate nucleus (lower on “off”) and thalamus (higher on “off”). These findings justify the present interest in the functional evaluation of the brain of patients with dementia. [99mTc]– d,l-HM-PAO and regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF)/SPECT appear useful and highlight individual disorders of flow in a variety of neuropsychiatric conditions.

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Intellectual, Mnemonic, and Frontal Functions in Dementia with Lewy Bodies: A Comparison with Early and Advanced Parkinson’s Disease

Behavioural Neurology ◽

10.1155/1999/851860 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 173-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

John Joseph Downes ◽

Nicholas M. Priestley ◽

Mark Doran ◽

Jose Ferran ◽

Eric Ghadiali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Dementia With Lewy Bodies ◽

Lewy Bodies ◽

Control Group ◽

Alzheimer Type ◽

Advanced Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Prefrontal Cortical ◽

Frontal Functions ◽

Cortical Regions

Both Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) share a common neuropathological marker, the presence of Lewy bodies in brain stem and basal forebrain nuclei. DLB, in addition, is associated with Lewy bodies in the neocortex, and, in it’s more common form, with Alzheimer-type pathological markers, particularly amyloid plaques. Published neuropsychological studies have focused on the differential profiles of DLB and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, it is presently unclear whether DLB should be classified as a variant of AD or PD. In the present study we compare a healthy age-matched control group with three groups of patients, one with DLB, and two with PD. One of the PD groups was early in the course (PD-E) and the second, more advanced group (PD-A), was matched on severity of cognitive impairment with the DLB group. The results show that DLB was associated with a different pattern of neuropsychological impairment than the PD-A group, particularly in tests believed to be mediated by prefrontal cortical regions.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Akinetic-rigid and tremor-dominant Parkinson's disease patients show different patterns of FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.10505957.11346055 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Codrin Lungu ◽

Pritha Ghosh

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Single Photon ◽

Photon Emission ◽

Emission Computed Tomography ◽

Single Photon Emission ◽

Emission Computed ◽

Single Photon Emission Computed ◽

Photon Emission Computed Tomography

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Study of cognitive impairment and genetic polymorphism of SLC41A1 (rs11240569 allele) in Parkinson’s disease in Upper Egypt: case-control study

The Egyptian Journal of Neurology Psychiatry and Neurosurgery ◽

10.1186/s41983-021-00341-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hamdy N. El-Tallawy ◽

Tahia H. Saleem ◽

Wafaa M. Farghaly ◽

Heba Mohamed Saad Eldien ◽

Ashraf Khodaery ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Control Group ◽

Motor Symptoms ◽

And Control ◽

Non Motor Symptoms ◽

Control Study

Abstract Background Parkinson’s disease is one of the neurodegenerative disorders that is caused by genetic and environmental factors or interaction between them. Solute carrier family 41 member 1 within the PARK16 locus has been reported to be associated with Parkinson’s disease. Cognitive impairment is one of the non-motor symptoms that is considered a challenge in Parkinson’s disease patients. This study aimed to investigate the association of rs11240569 polymorphism; a synonymous coding variant in SLC41A1 in Parkinson’s disease patients in addition to the assessment of cognitive impairment in those patients. Results In a case -control study, rs11240569 single nucleotide polymorphisms in SLC41A1, genes were genotyped in 48 Parkinson’s disease patients and 48 controls. Motor and non-motor performance in Parkinson's disease patients were assessed by using the Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). The genotype and allele frequencies were compared between the two groups and revealed no significant differences between case and control groups for rs11240569 in SLC41A1 gene with P value .523 and .54, respectively. Cognition was evaluated and showed the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of WAIS score of PD patients 80.4 ± 9.13 and the range was from 61 to 105, in addition to MMSE that showed mean ± SD 21.96 ± 3.8. Conclusion Genetic testing of the present study showed that rs11240569 polymorphism of SLC41A1 gene has no significant differences in distributions of alleles and genotypes between cases and control group, in addition to cognitive impairment that is present in a large proportion of PD patients and in addition to the strong correlation between cognitive impairment and motor and non-motor symptoms progression.

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Donepezil for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-84243-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kyoungwon Baik ◽

Seon Myeong Kim ◽

Jin Ho Jung ◽

Yang Hyun Lee ◽

Seok Jong Chung ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽

Treatment Group ◽

Outcome Measures ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Control Group ◽

Significant Difference

AbstractWe investigated the efficacy of donepezil for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD-MCI). This was a prospective, non-randomized, open-label, two-arm study. Eighty PD-MCI patients were assigned to either a treatment or control group. The treatment group received donepezil for 48 weeks. The primary outcome measures were the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Exam and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores. Secondary outcome measures were the Clinical Dementia Rating, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III, Clinical Global Impression scores. Progression of dementia was assessed at 48-week. Comprehensive neuropsychological tests and electroencephalography (EEG) were performed at baseline and after 48 weeks. The spectral power ratio of the theta to beta2 band (TB2R) in the electroencephalogram was analyzed. There was no significant difference in the primary and secondary outcome measures between the two groups. However, the treatment group showed a significant decrease in TB2R at bilateral frontotemporoparietal channels compared to the control group. Although we could not demonstrate improvements in the cognitive functions, donepezil treatment had a modulatory effect on the EEG in PD-MCI patients. EEG might be a sensitive biomarker for detecting changes in PD-MCI after donepezil treatment.

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Integrated network analysis identifying potential novel drug candidates and targets for Parkinson's disease

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-92701-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Pusheng Quan ◽

Kai Wang ◽

Shi Yan ◽

Shirong Wen ◽

Chengqun Wei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Drug Target ◽

Target Genes ◽

Enrichment Analysis ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Functional Enrichment ◽

Control Group ◽

Drug Candidates ◽

Novel Drug

AbstractThis study aimed to identify potential novel drug candidates and targets for Parkinson’s disease. First, 970 genes that have been reported to be related to PD were collected from five databases, and functional enrichment analysis of these genes was conducted to investigate their potential mechanisms. Then, we collected drugs and related targets from DrugBank, narrowed the list by proximity scores and Inverted Gene Set Enrichment analysis of drug targets, and identified potential drug candidates for PD treatment. Finally, we compared the expression distribution of the candidate drug-target genes between the PD group and the control group in the public dataset with the largest sample size (GSE99039) in Gene Expression Omnibus. Ten drugs with an FDR < 0.1 and their corresponding targets were identified. Some target genes of the ten drugs significantly overlapped with PD-related genes or already known therapeutic targets for PD. Nine differentially expressed drug-target genes with p < 0.05 were screened. This work will facilitate further research into the possible efficacy of new drugs for PD and will provide valuable clues for drug design.

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Impact of DaTscan Imaging on Clinical Decision Making in Clinically Uncertain Parkinson’s Disease

Journal of Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.3233/jpd-202506 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Jonathan R. Isaacson ◽

Salima Brillman ◽

Nisha Chhabria ◽

Stuart H. Isaacson

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Clinical Diagnosis ◽

Clinical Decision Making ◽

Photon Emission ◽

Case Series ◽

Emission Computed Tomography ◽

Medication Therapy ◽

Clinical Scenarios ◽

The Impact

Background: The diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is primarily clinical, but in cases of diagnostic uncertainty, evaluation of nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration (NSDD) by imaging of the dopamine transporter using DaTscan with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain imaging may be helpful. Objective/Methods: In the current paper, we describe clinical scenarios for which DaTscan imaging was used in a prospective case series of 201 consecutive patients in whom a movement disorder specialist ordered DaTscan imaging to clarify NSDD. We describe the impact of DaTscan results on changing or confirming pre-DaTscan clinical diagnosis and on post-DaTscan treatment changes. Results/Conclusion: DaTscan imaging can be useful in several clinical scenarios to determine if NSDD is present. These include in patients with early subtle symptoms, suboptimal response to levodopa, prominent action tremor, drug-induced parkinsonism, and in patients with lower extremity or other less common parkinsonism clinical presentations. We also found DaTscan imaging to be useful to determine underlying NSDD in patients with PD diagnosis for 3-5 years but without apparent clinical progression or development of motor fluctuations. Overall, in 201 consecutive patients with clinically questionable NSDD, DaTscan was abnormal in 58.7% of patients, normal in 37.8%, and inconclusive in 3.5%. DaTscan imaging changed clinical diagnosis in 39.8% of patients and led to medication therapy changes in 70.1% of patients.

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Validation of Cognitive Rehabilitation as a Balance Rehabilitation Strategy in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Medicina ◽

10.3390/medicina57040314 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

pp. 314

Author(s):

Aida Arroyo-Ferrer ◽

Francisco José Sánchez-Cuesta ◽

Yeray González-Zamorano ◽

María Dolores del Castillo ◽

Carolina Sastre-Barrios ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Cognitive Therapy ◽

Cognitive Processing ◽

Processing Speed ◽

Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽

Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽

Control Group ◽

Motor Symptoms ◽

The Impact

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. This disease is characterized by motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity. Although balance impairment is characteristic of advanced stages, it can be present with less intensity since the beginning of the disease. Approximately 60% of PD patients fall once a year and 40% recurrently. On the other hand, cognitive symptoms affect up to 20% of patients with PD in early stages and can even precede the onset of motor symptoms. There are cognitive requirements for balance and can be challenged when attention is diverted or reduced, linking a worse balance and a higher probability of falls with a slower cognitive processing speed and attentional problems. Cognitive rehabilitation of attention and processing speed can lead to an improvement in postural stability in patients with Parkinson’s. Methods: We present a parallel and controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) to assess the impact on balance of a protocol based on cognitive rehabilitation focused on sustained attention through the NeuronUP platform (Neuronup SI, La Rioja, Spain) in patients with PD. For 4 weeks, patients in the experimental group will receive cognitive therapy three days a week while the control group will not receive any therapy. The protocol has been registered at trials.gov NCT04730466. Conclusions: Cognitive therapy efficacy on balance improvement may open the possibility of new rehabilitation strategies for prevention of falls in PD, reducing morbidity, and saving costs to the health care system.

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Feasibility Aspects of Exploring Exercise-Induced Neuroplasticity in Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1155/2020/2410863 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hanna Johansson ◽

Malin Freidle ◽

Urban Ekman ◽

Ellika Schalling ◽

Breiffni Leavy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Dual Task ◽

Trial Design ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Recruitment Rate ◽

Blood Sampling ◽

Assessment Process ◽

Control Group ◽

Exercise Induced

Background. Recent studies indicate that exercise can induce neuroplastic changes in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD). Reports of feasibility outcomes from existing pilot trials however are, of date, insufficient to enable replication by others in larger definitive trials. Objective. To evaluate trial design for a definitive trial by exploring process and scientific feasibility. Methods. The trial design was a parallel-group RCT pilot with a 1 : 1 allocation ratio to either HiBalance or an active control group (HiCommunication). Both groups received one-hour sessions twice weekly, plus home exercises weekly, for 10 weeks. Participants with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease (PD) were recruited via advertisement. Assessment included physical performance, structural and functional MRI, blood sampling, neuropsychological assessment, and speech/voice assessment. Process and scientific feasibility were monitored throughout the study. Process feasibility involved recruitment, participant acceptability of assessments and interventions, assessment procedures (focus on imaging, blood sampling, and dual-task gait analysis), and blinding procedures. Scientific feasibility involved trends in outcome response and safety during group training and home exercises. Data are presented in median, minimum, and maximum values. Changes from pre- to postintervention are reported descriptively. Results. Thirteen participants were included (4 women, mean age 69.7 years), with a recruitment rate of 31%. Attendance rates and follow-up questionnaires indicated that both groups were acceptable to participate. Image quality was acceptable; however, diplopia and/or sleepiness were observed in several participants during MRI. With regard to dual-task gait performance, there appeared to be a ceiling effect of the cognitive tasks with seven participants scoring all correct answers at pretest. Blinding of group allocation was successful for one assessor but was broken for half of participants for the other. Conclusions. The overall trial design proved feasible to perform, but further strengthening ahead of the definitive RCT is recommended, specifically with respect to MRI setup, cognitive dual-tasks during gait, and blinding procedures. This trial is registered with NCT03213873.

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