Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0030567 (Parkinson's disease)
 63,064 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Hot, humid conditions in tropical regions generally rule out any risk of hypothermia due to cold exposure. In this report, we describe a case of severe hypothermia involving a core temperature of 26 degrees C in a 61-year-old man living in Gabon. Parkinson's disease and chronic alcoholism may have been predisposing factors. The patient was treated by active and passive rewarming (intestinal irrigation with warm water). Sudden circulatory collapse occurred during treatment but the final outcome was successful. This case demonstrates that hypothermia can occur in tropical areas. Emergency diagnosis may be difficult in Black Africa where adequate temperature monitoring equipment is rarely available. Standard mercury thermometers do not allow measurement of temperatures lower than 34 degrees C. African physicians should be aware of the possibility of potentially life-threatening hypothermia and be prepared to initiate proper treatment and surveillance in intensive care.
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PMID:[Severe hypothermia in a tropical setting]. 979 96

The relationship between sympathetic skin response (SSR) and cardiovascular autonomic function tests (CVTs) was investigated in 15 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD), 15 patients with clinical evidence of multiple system atrophy (MSA) with autonomic failure, and in 15 healthy control subjects. SSR was elicited by electrical stimulation of the right and left median nerves and simultaneously recorded on the palms of both hands. CVTs included the following sympathetic and parasympathetic tests: orthostatism, head-up tilt, cold pressor test, deep breathing, Valsalva maneuver, and hyperventilation. The SSR was normal in all patients with PD and control subjects but was abnormal or absent in all patients with MSA. For patients with MSA, SSR latency was significantly longer and amplitude was significantly smaller than that of patients with PD and control subjects. For patients with PD, SSR did not differ from that of control subjects. In these patients, SSR latency was significantly longer and SSR amplitude was smaller when the side with more marked motor symptoms was stimulated, both ipsilaterally and contralaterally to the side of stimulation. A statistically significant difference in SSR latencies and amplitudes was found between patients with PD and control subjects only when motor asymmetries were considered. CVTs showed severe sympathetic and parasympathetic hypofunction in patients with MSA, but not in patients with PD or control subjects. No correlation was found between SSR and CVTs that assess sympathetic function in patients and control subjects. SSR is indicated as an additional test for the evaluation of sympathetic degeneration in patients with MSA.
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PMID:Sympathetic skin response and cardiovascular autonomic function tests in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy with autonomic failure. 1110 8

Hand therapists may notice a patient's tremor when treating another diagnostic problem, such as arthritis or a fracture. In these instances, the tremor may become apparent as the patient attempts to don or doff a splint or to practice a home exercise program, or it may be reported in terms of difficulty with dressing or eating. The authors hypothesized that limb cooling would temporarily improve hand function among patients with essential tremor (ET) and that limb warming would temporarily improve hand function among patients with resting tremor secondary to Parkinson disease (PD). Twenty patients with ET and 20 patients with PD completed this single-blind randomized crossover study. Scores following exposure to cold water were compared with scores following exposure to warm water. For patients with ET, subtest scores for the Archimedes spiral, simulated feeding, and checkers were, statistically, significantly lower (i.e., improved) following exposure to cold water than following exposure to warm water; scores for Archimedes spiral card turning, simulated feeding, and checkers were significantly lower following exposure to cold water than at baseline. Scores for Archimedes spiral and card turning were also significantly lower following exposure to warm water than at baseline. For patients with PD, no statistically significant differences were noted between treatments or from baseline except the score for small common objects, which was lower (improved) following exposure to warm water than at baseline. The significant findings from this study support the therapeutic use of cooling to temporarily decrease tremor, thereby improving hand function among patients with ET.
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PMID:The effect of temperature on hand function in patients with tremor. 1112 53

Modification of the dissolution rate and, thus, the enhancement of the bioavailability of a dopaminergic drug, piribedil, which has a low aqueous solubility and short elimination half-life have been the aim in this study. Preparations of micron and submicron particles using solid lipid carriers have been performed for this purpose. For the avoidance of solvent residues resulting from the preparation technique, cold and hot homogenization methods have been used to prepare solid lipid particles. After obtaining an appropriate particle size, piribedil loading and preparation yield by the use of those two methods, various formulations have been prepared with different lipid, drug and surfactant materials. The factors mentioned were found to affect properties of the particles, and the release rate was found to be the fastest in acidic medium. Suspensions of pure piribedil and a formulation, selected according to the results obtained from in vitro dissolution and particle size experiments, were compared using tremor tests in mice. The same suspensions were applied perorally to rabbits and bioavailability of the solid lipid particle was found to be higher than the pure piribedil. After an in vitro-in vivo evaluation of piribedil solid lipid particles developed for Parkinson's disease therapy, it has been determined that release rate could be controlled and piribedil bioavailability could be improved.
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PMID:Formulation and in vitro-in vivo evaluation of piribedil solid lipid micro- and nanoparticles. 1130 26

Cutaneous symptoms (seborrhoea and hyperhidrosis) in Parkinson's disease were investigated. In 70 treated patients with Parkinson's disease and 22 control subjects, non-invasive bioengineering methods (sebumetry, corneometry, pH) were carried out on the forehead, sternum and forearm. In addition, concomitant dermatoses and medication were recorded. 18.6% of the patients had seborrhoea on the forehead (>220 microg/cm2), 51.4% showed normal sebum values (100-220 microg/cm2) and 30% a sebostasis (<100 microg/cm2). Males has significantly higher sebum values than females. No relationship between the seborrhoea and the therapy for Morbus Parkinson was found. Patients with hyperhidrosis (n = 36) had significantly lower pH values (p < 0.05) on the forehead than those without hyperhidrosis. 22 patients (31.9%) reported a cold/hot flush and a further 13 (18.8%) had clinical rosacea. Seborrhoea is rare in treated Parkinsonian patients but hyperhidrosis is frequently found. Furthermore, a particular lack of vasostability (flush) appears to be an autonomic dysregulation in the skin related to Morbus Parkinson, which has not been studied to any extent to date.
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PMID:Skin function and skin disorders in Parkinson's disease. 1131 73

Besides the classic motor swings, many non motor fluctuations may occur in Parkinson's disease, but the clinical spectrum and the frequency of these symptoms are not well recognized. A total of 47 parkinsonian outpatients were questioned about any symptoms associated with off state. Nine patients had no fluctuations, 16 referred only to motor fluctuations and 22 to motor fluctuations associated with non motor symptoms. Overall, these patients referred to 54 symptoms (average 2.3/patients, range 1-6). These symptoms were classified as: autonomic (3 difficulty in swallowing, 7 hot, 11 sweat, 2 cold, 1 pallor, 1 abdominal bloating, 1 abdominal pain, 1 abdominal and genital pain, 5 bladder dysfunction, 2 feet oedema); sensory (7 sensory dyspnoea, 1 pain in lower limbs, 1 internal tremor); cognitive (3 depression, 4 anxiety, 2 panic, 1 drowsiness, 1 confusion). In patients without off periods, the length, severity and the average dosages of levodopa were fewer than in patients with fluctuations. No significant differences were found between patients with motor off and patients with associated non motor off regarding age (71.2+/-9.6 years vs 71.6+/-10.7 years), length of the disease (83.2+/-38.5 months vs 95.9+/-58.1 months), the Hoehn-Yahr (3.06+/-0.96 vs 3.02+/-0.96) and Webster (15.5+/-6.99 vs 15.1+/-5.9) scale, the dosages of levodopa (680.9+/-238.9 mg/die vs 679.7+/-289.6 mg/die), the number (2.3+/-1.7 vs 2.8+/-1.5) and length (6.8+/-5.2 h vs 7.2+/-7.1 h) of motor off. The non motor fluctuations were recognized in about 60% of patients with motor fluctuations: usually they were mild and less important than motor off, but sometimes these problems were disabling and led to unnecessary tests and therapies.
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PMID:Non motor off in Parkinson's disease. 1169 27

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by mitochondrial respiration and other processes are often viewed as hazardous substances. Indeed, oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between oxidant production and antioxidant protection, has been linked to several neurological disorders, including cerebral ischemia-reperfusion and Parkinson's disease. Consequently, cells and organisms have evolved specialized antioxidant defenses to balance ROS production and prevent oxidative damage. Research in our laboratory has shown that neuronal levels of ascorbate, a low molecular weight antioxidant, are ten-fold higher than those in much less metabolically active glial cells. Ascorbate levels are also selectively elevated in the CNS of anoxia-tolerant reptiles compared to mammals; moreover, plasma and CSF ascorbate concentrations increase markedly in cold-adapted turtles and in hibernating squirrels. Levels of the related antioxidant, glutathione, vary much less between neurons and glia or among species. An added dimension to the role of the antioxidant network comes from recent evidence that ROS can act as neuromodulators. One example is modulation of dopamine release by endogenous hydrogen peroxide, which we describe here for several mammalian species. Together, these data indicate adaptations that prevent oxidative stress and suggest a particularly important role for ascorbate. Moreover, they show that the antioxidant network must be balanced precisely to provide functional levels of ROS, as well as neuroprotection.
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PMID:Brain antioxidant regulation in mammals and anoxia-tolerant reptiles: balanced for neuroprotection and neuromodulation. 1245 80

Polymorphisms in the human mitochondrial genome have been used for the elucidation of phylogenetic relationships among various ethnic groups. Because analysis by mitochondrial genetics has detected pathogenic mutations causing mitochondrial encephalomyopathy or cardiomyopathy, most of the mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs) found in control subjects have been regarded as merely normal variants. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that the mitochondrial functional differences among individuals are ascribable at least in part to the mtSNPs of each individual. Human lifespan in ancient history was much shorter than that at the present time. Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that certain mtSNPs that predispose one toward susceptibility to adult- or elderly-onset diseases, such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease, have never been a target for natural selection in the past. Similarly, thrifty mtSNPs that had been advantageous for survival under severe famine or cold climate conditions might turn out to be related to satiation-related diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and obesity. To examine these hypotheses, we have constructed a mtSNP database by sequencing the entire mitochondrial genomes of 672 subjects: 96 in each of seven groups (i.e., centenarians, young obese or non-obese subjects, diabetic patients with or without major vascular involvement, patients with Parkinson's disease, and those with Alzheimer's disease).
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PMID:Mitochondrial genome single nucleotide polymorphisms and their phenotypes in the Japanese. 1512 79

alpha-Synuclein phosphorylated at Ser129 is the main component of Lewy bodies of Parkinson's and closely related diseases. We studied, by quantitative immunoblotting, changes in the phosphorylation level of alpha-synuclein in the mouse brains subjected to cold water stress. Relative basal level of alpha-synuclein phosphorylation at Ser129 was 40% higher in the striatum compared with the hippocampus. The phosphorylation level decreased to 57% in the striatum 20 min after 5 min of cold water stress, and also in the hippocampus and cortex to lesser degrees. Recovery to basal levels took place over several hours. The stress-induced temporary dephosphorylation was of smaller magnitude in the striatum of aged (18 months) mice. These results show that alpha-synuclein phosphorylation level at Ser129 in vivo responds to physiological stimuli. Relative prominence and age sensitivity of this phenomenon in the striatum may be relevant to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease.
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PMID:Phosphorylated alpha-synuclein in normal mouse brain. 1530 53

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by motor symptoms (resting tremor, brady- or akinesia and muscle rigidity), and also by postural problems gait disorder and fatigue as well as behavioural and autonomic symptoms, including thermoregulatory impairment. These symptoms are strikingly similar with some motor phenomena, evoked by the whole body cooling, though the primary cause of PD and cold-induced symptoms are apparently different. The review is focused on the hypothesis that thermoregulatory mechanisms are involved in pathophysiology of motor disorders in PD. The comparative analysis provides some examples of analogy between PD and the state of cooling in respect with tremor, muscle hypertonus, postural reactions and impairment of gross and fine muscle performance. This analogy cannot be considered as specific, because in some normal conditions the motor system utilises identical strategy to compensate for motor deterioration, e.g. at fatigue and ageing. However, such motor phenomena, as neuroleptic malignant syndrome and paired discharges of motor units indicate that the "thermoregulation-dependent component" exists in the pathophysiology of PD. Data on the influence of the whole body cooling and heating on muscle performance, rigidity and tremor in PD patients also provide evidence for the involvement of thermoregulatory mechanisms in PD.
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PMID:"Thermoregulation-dependent component" in pathophysiology of motor disorders in Parkinson's disease? 1583 63


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