Screening for Early Stages of Nigrostriatal Alteration (II): Gait Pattern in Healthy Subjects with Increased Echogenicity of the Substantia Nigra

2004 ◽  
Vol 35 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
U Dillmann ◽  
S Behnke ◽  
J Krämer ◽  
CM Krick
Keyword(s):  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Gait Pattern ◽  
Early Stages

scholarly journals Work and power reduced in L-dopa naïve patients in the early-stages of Parkinson’s disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-292
Author(s):  
Lidiane Oliveira Lima ◽  
Francisco Cardoso ◽  
Luci Fuscaldi Teixeira-Salmela ◽  
Fátima Rodrigues-de-Paula
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Lower Limbs ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Isokinetic Dynamometer ◽  
Muscular Performance ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Rehabilitation Strategies

ABSTRACT Studies which have investigated muscular performance during the initial stages of Parkinson´s disease (PD) without L-dopa treatments were not found. Objective to assess whether muscular performance, work and power, of the trunk and lower limbs in L-dopa naïve patients in the early stages of PD was lower than those of healthy subjects and to compare muscular performance between the lower limbs. Method Ten subjects with PD, Hoehn and Yahr (HY) I-II, L-dopa naïve and 10 subjects in the control group were assessed with the isokinetic dynamometer. Results ANOVAs revealed that work and power measures of the trunk, hip, knee, and ankle muscular groups were lower in PD compared with the control group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in muscular performance between the lower limbs. Conclusion The results suggested the use of specific exercises, as rehabilitation strategies, to improve the ability to produce work and power with this population.

scholarly journals Evaluation of dopamine D3 receptor occupancy by blonanserin using [11C]-(+)-PHNO in schizophrenia patients

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeshi Sakayori ◽  
Amane Tateno ◽  
Ryosuke Arakawa ◽  
Woo-chan Kim ◽  
Yoshiro Okubo
Keyword(s):  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Globus Pallidus ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Receptor Occupancy ◽  
Binding Potential ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Dopamine D3 ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Pet Scans ◽  
Average Occupancy

Abstract Rationale Unlike other antipsychotics, our previous positron emission tomography (PET) study demonstrated that a single dose of blonanserin occupied dopamine D3 as well as dopamine D2 receptors in healthy subjects. However, there has been no study concerning the continued use of blonanserin. Objectives We examined D2 and D3 receptor occupancies in patients with schizophrenia who had been treated with blonanserin. Methods Thirteen patients with schizophrenia participated. PET examinations were performed on patients treated with clinical dosage of blonanserin or olanzapine alone. A crossover design was used in which seven patients switched drugs after the first scan, and PET examinations were conducted again. D2 and D3 receptor occupancies were evaluated by [11C]-(+)-PHNO. We used nondisplaceable binding potential (BPND) of 6 healthy subjects which we previously reported as baseline. To consider the effect of upregulation of D3 receptor by continued use of antipsychotics, D3 receptor occupancy by blonanserin in seven subjects who completed 2 PET scans were re-analyzed by using BPND of olanzapine condition as baseline. Results Average occupancy by olanzapine (10.8 ± 6.0 mg/day) was as follows: caudate 32.8 ± 18.3%, putamen 26.3 ± 18.2%, globus pallidus − 33.7 ± 34.9%, substantia nigra − 112.8 ± 90.7%. Average occupancy by blonanserin (12.8 ± 5.6 mg/day) was as follows: caudate 61.0 ± 8.3%, putamen 55.5 ± 9.5%, globus pallidus 48.9 ± 12.4%, substantia nigra 34.0 ± 20.6%. EC50 was 0.30 ng/mL for D2 receptor for caudate and putamen (df = 19, p < 0.0001) and 0.70 ng/mL for D3 receptor for globus pallidus and substantia nigra (df = 19, p < 0.0001). EC50 for D3 receptor of blonanserin changed to 0.22 ng/mL (df = 13, p = 0.0041) when we used BPND of olanzapine condition as baseline. Conclusions Our study confirmed that blonanserin occupied both D2 and D3 receptors in patients with schizophrenia.

The Differences in Gait Pattern Between Dancers and Non-Dancers

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 451-457 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. -W. Lung ◽  
J. -S. Chern ◽  
L. -F. Hsieh ◽  
S. -W. Yang
Keyword(s):  
Ankle Sprain ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Center Of Pressure ◽  
Reaction Force ◽  
High Stress ◽  
Gait Pattern ◽  
Swing Phase ◽  
Gait Patterns ◽  
Gait Characteristics ◽  
Walking Pattern

AbstractStudents in dancing department routinely perform hours of dancing every day. Extreme ankle posture can subject the ankle of the dancers to high stress and can significantly increase the mobility of the ankle. This causes ankle sprain which occurs frequently during daily walking. Measurements of the ground reaction force (GRF) and the center of pressure (CoP) provide useful variables to analyze the walking patterns of dancers, which might help understand the causes of ankle sprain. The aims of this work were (1) to investigate the differences in gait patterns between dancers and non-dancers and (2) to explore the gait characteristics in dancers. Thirteen students in dancing department and twenty age-matched normal healthy subjects were recruited. All subjects were requested to walk along a 10-meter walkway. Results showed that the dancers have greater medial shear force of the GRF, and decreased the CoP velocity during the pre-swing phase, delayed peak-CoP velocity occurrence during the mid-stance, and straighter CoP trajectory through the forefoot at push off. The intense and demanding dancing activities change the walking pattern of dancers, which may lead to higher chance of getting ankle sprain.

MiRNA Profile in the Substantia Nigra of Parkinson’s Disease and Healthy Subjects

2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 830-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucía F. Cardo ◽  
Eliecer Coto ◽  
René Ribacoba ◽  
Manuel Menéndez ◽  
Germán Moris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Mirna Profile

scholarly journals Increased Sodium Concentration in Substantia Nigra in Early Parkinson's Disease: A Preliminary Study With Ultra-High Field (7T) MRI

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Grimaldi ◽  
Mohamed Mounir El Mendili ◽  
Wafaa Zaaraoui ◽  
Jean-Philippe Ranjeva ◽  
Jean-Philippe Azulay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Sodium Concentration ◽  
Old Patients ◽  
Sodium Accumulation ◽  
Cortical Gray Matter ◽  
Concentration Changes

Pathophysiology of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (iPD) is complex and still misunderstood. At a time when treatments with disease-modifying potential are being developed, identification of early markers of neurodegeneration is essential. Intracerebral sodium accumulation could be one of them. Indeed, it may be in relation to the mitochondrial dysfunction that early exists in iPD. For the first time, we used brain sodium (23Na) MRI to explore sodium concentration changes that have already been reported to be related to neurodegeneration in other diseases. We prospectively included 10 iPD patients (mean age 52.2 ± 5.9 years-old) with motor symptoms that started &lt;36 months before inclusion and 12 healthy subjects (mean age 53 ± 6.4 years-old). Patients were scanned in OFF medication state by using proton (1H) and 23Na MRI at 7T. We then extracted quantitative Total Sodium Concentration (TSC) from five regions of interest known to be early impaired in iPD [substantia nigra (SN), putamen, caudate nucleus, pallidum, thalamus] and in one region supposed to be relatively spared in the first stages of the disease [cortical gray matter (neocortex)]. Potential atrophy in these structures was also investigated with 1H MRI. Relative to healthy subjects, iPD patients showed higher TSC in the SN (43.73 ± 4.64 vs. 37.72 ± 5.62, p = 0.006 after Bonferroni correction). A trend of increase in sodium concentrations was found within the pallidum (45.80 ± 4.19 vs. 41.07 ± 4.94, p = 0.017), putamen (48.65 ± 4.58 vs. 43.66 ± 5.04, p = 0.041) and the cortical gray matter (56.34 ± 3.92 vs. 50.81 ± 5.50, p = 0.021). No significant brain atrophy was found in patients compared to controls. Thus, alteration of sodium homeostasis in the SN in the absence of atrophy could be considered as a potential early marker of cellular dysfunction in iPD.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Gait Patterns During Overt and Covert Evaluation in Patients With Parkinson’s Disease and Healthy Subjects: Is There a Hawthorne Effect?

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verónica Robles-García ◽  
Yoanna Corral-Bergantiños ◽  
Nelson Espinosa ◽  
María Amalia Jácome ◽  
Carlos García-Sancho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Gait Pattern ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Expectancy Effects ◽  
Experimental Conditions

Parkinson’s disease (PD) and aging lead to gait impairments. Some of the disturbances of gait are focused on step length, cadence, and temporal variability of gait cycle. Under experimental conditions gait can be overtly evaluated, but patients with PD are prone to expectancy effects; thus it seems relevant to determine if such evaluation truly reflects the spontaneous gait pattern in such patients, and also in healthy subjects. Thirty subjects (15 subjects with PD and 15 healthy control subjects) were asked to walk using their natural, preferred gait pattern. In half of the trials subjects were made aware that they were being evaluated (overt evaluation), while in the rest of the trials the evaluation was performed covertly (covert evaluation). During covert evaluation the gait pattern was modified in all groups. Gait speed was significantly increased (P = .022); step cadence and average step length were also significantly modified, the average step length increased (P = .002) and the cadence was reduced (P ≤ .001). Stride cycle time variability was unchanged significantly (P = .084). These changes were not significantly different compared between elderly and young healthy controls either. Due to the small sample size, a note of caution is in order; however, the significant results suggest that covert evaluation of gait might be considered to complement experimental evaluations of gait.

scholarly journals Expression Profiling of Blood microRNAs 885, 361, and 17 in the Patients with the Parkinson’s disease: Integrating Interaction Data to Uncover the Possible Triggering Age-Related Mechanisms

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Molood Behbahanipour ◽  
Maryam Peymani ◽  
Mehri Salari ◽  
Motahare-Sadat Hashemi ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Nasr-Esfahani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Cellular Senescence ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Advanced Stages

Abstract MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to contribute to the pathophysiology of the Parkinson’s disease (PD), an age related-neurodegenerative disorder. The aim of present study was to compare the expression profiles of a new set of candidate miRNAs related to aging and cellular senescence in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from the PD patients with healthy controls and then in the early and advanced stages of the PD patients with their controls to clarify whether their expression was correlated with the disease severity. We have also proposed a consensus-based strategy to interpret the miRNAs expression data to gain a better insight into the molecular regulatory alterations during the incidence of PD. We evaluated the miRNA expression levels in the PBMCs obtained from 36 patients with PD and 16 healthy controls by the reverse transcription-quantitative real-time PCR and their performance to discriminate the PD patients from the healthy subjects assessed using the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Also, we applied our consensus and integration approach to construct a deregulated miRNA-based network in PD with the respective targets and transcription factors, and the enriched gene ontology and pathways using the enrichment analysis approach were obtained. There was a significant overexpression of miR-885 and miR-17 and the downregulation of miR-361 in the PD patients compared to the controls. The blood expression of miR-885 and miR-17 tended to increase along with the disease severity. On the other hand, the lower levels of miR-361 in the early stages of the PD patients, as compared to controls, and its higher levels in the advanced stages of PD patients, as compared to the early stages of the PD patients, were observed. Combination of all three miRNAs showed an appropriate value of AUC (0.985) to discriminate the PD patients from the healthy subjects. Also, the deregulated miRNAs were linked to the known PD pathways and the candidate related target genes were presented. We revealed 3 candidate biomarkers related to aging and cellular senescence for the first time in the patients with PD. Our in-silico analysis identified candidate target genes and TFs, including those related to neurodegeneration and PD. Overall, our findings provided novel insights into the probable age-regulatory mechanisms underlying PD and a rationale to further clarify the role of the identified miRNAs in the PD pathogenesis.

scholarly journals Identification of Blood-based Biomarkers for Early Stage Parkinson’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Gao
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Dopaminergic Neurons ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Motor Symptoms ◽  
Early Stages

AbstractParkinson’s disease (PD) affects millions of people worldwide and causes symptoms such as bradykinesia and disrupted speech. Parkinson’s disease is known to be characterized by the mass death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra region. In the status quo, PD is often diagnosed at late stages because obvious motor symptoms appear after the disease has progressed far. It is advantageous to diagnose PD before the onset of motor symptoms because treatments are often more effective at early stages. While motor symptoms usually manifest when over 50% of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra are already lost, molecular signatures of PD may be present at early stages in patient blood. This study aimed to analyze several gene expression studies’ data for commonly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the blood of early stage PD patients. 147 DEGs were identified in at least two out of three datasets and passed cut-off criteria. A protein interaction network for the DEGs was constructed and various tools were used to identify network characteristics and hub genes. PANTHER analysis revealed that the biological process “cellular response to glucagon stimulus” was overrepresented by almost 21 times among the DEGs and “lymphocyte differentiation” by 5.98 times. Protein catabolic processes and protein kinase functions were also overrepresented. ESR1, CD19, SMAD3, FOS, CXCR5, and PRKACA may be potential biomarkers and warrant further study. Overall, the findings of the present study provide insights on molecular mechanisms of PD and provide greater confidence on which genes are differentially expressed in PD. The results also are additional evidence for the role of the immune system in PD, a topic that is gaining interest in the PD research community.

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