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)

Serum and CSF from patients with classic von Economo's postencephalitic Parkinson's disease, idiopathic Parkinson's disease and non-Parkinsonian neurological controls were tested for hemagglutination-inhibition antibodies to 17 arboviruses. All 35 CSF specimens from patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and controls were negative (ie, no inhibition of hemagglutination) with all the antigens. Of the total of 124 serums from the three study groups, 105 were also negative with all antigens tested. The only positive results were given by 19 serum specimens against one or more of group B arbovirus antigens, and/or against Batai and western equine encephalomyelitis antigens. There were no definitive differences in the distribution of these positive serum titers among controls, idiopathic Parkinson's, and postencephalitic Parkinson's cases. A causal relationship of the arboviruses tested with either the classical postencephalitic or idiopathic Parkinson's disease is not supported by the results of this study.
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PMID:Antibodies against arboviruses in postencephalitic and idiopathic Parkinson's disease. 64 78

A marked generalized astrogliosis was observed in the frontal and temporal white matter from a case of von Economo's disease and another of postencephalitic Parkinson's disease, which areas were otherwise devoid of any other demonstrable microscopic lesions. No similar astrocytic reaction of any severity was observed in the same areas in a number of other brain diseases or controls, except when other kinds of lesions were present in the same section, with reactive astrocytes being present within the primary or defining lesion or immediately close by. The marked astrogliosis in von Economo's and postencephalitic Parkinson's diseases in areas "distant" from the primary lesions seeming to indicate extensive pathological involvement, added to the strong qualitative and quantitative similarity of this reaction to that observed in concurrently studied cases of encephalitides caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, lend further factual support to the hypothesis of a viral etiology, albeit unspecified, in both von Economo's and postencephalitic Parkinson's diseases.
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PMID:Astrogliosis in von Economo's and postencephalitic Parkinson's diseases supports probable viral etiology. 175 88

Autoantibodies to neurofilaments were found by the immunofluorescence technique in serum of patients with postencephalitic (von Economo's) and idiopathic Parkinson's disease in the same proportion as in age-matched neurological and non-neurological controls. In addition, similar neurofibrillary staining was detected in age groups of 29 years and younger, but rarely in the first year of life. Persons over 70, with or without disease, showed a prevalence of antibodies significantly higher than in persons under 70. Serum from 1 case of Alzheimer's disease out of 4 tested, was positive for neurofilament antibodies; serum from the only case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease tested was negative. A total of 298 serum specimens, each from a different person, was tested. The use of cryostat-frozen longitudinal sections of normal rat spinal cord as a substrate has been confirmed to be an effective, reproducible and simple procedure for the detection of antineurofilament antibodies in human sera by indirect immunofluorescence.
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PMID:Antineurofilament antibodies in postencephalitic and idiopathic Parkinson's disease. 668 49

In 1954, when he was five years old, a patient suffered from encephalitis with a prolonged lethargic state. Following this episode, he presented a severe parkinsonian syndrome which was associated, after a few years, with an axial dystonia and stereotyped involuntary movements of the upper limbs. These abnormal movements were particular by their coordinated appearance, their rhythmicity and their relative slowness. Treatment with L-dopa suppressed all akinetic, dystonic and dyskinetic symptoms. At age of 40 years, all the akinetic, dystonic and dyskinetic symptoms reappeared after drug withdrawal. Cerebral computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography were normal. Fluorodopa positron emission tomography revealed a significant bilateral reduction of tracer accumulation in the posterior part of both putamen, similar to that observed in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. In this patient, pharmacological tests revealed that effectiveness of L-dopa was abolished by administration of a D2 antagonist, and was fully reproduced by a D2 agonist. Clinical signs, pharmacological data and past-medical history strongly suggested a limited lesion of the zona compacta of substantia nigra induced by viral agression. This complex and progressive extrapyramidal syndrome had strong similarities with the lethargic encephalitis of Von Economo and its late symptoms. Other diseases associating akinesia and dyskinesia or dystonic phenomena, like dopa-sensitive dystonia and juvenile Parkinson's disease, are very unlikely. Thus, the persistance of sporadic forms of Von Economo's encephalitis could be discussed.
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PMID:[Parkinsonian syndrome and post-encephalitic stereotyped involuntary movements responsive to L-dopa]. 876 55

In 1954, at the age of 5 years, our patient had an encephalitic syndrome associated with a prolonged lethargic state. After this episode, he developed a severe parkinsonian syndrome that, after a few years, was associated with axial dystonia and stereotyped abnormal movements of the upper limbs. This complex and progressive extrapyramidal syndrome had many similarities to the encephalitis lethargica as described by von Economo. Results of cerebral computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were normal. Fluorodopa positron emission tomography showed a significant bilateral reduction of tracer accumulation in both putamen, similar to that observed in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease. However, in this patient, treatment with L-Dopa suppressed all akinetic, dystonic and dyskinetic symptoms. The effectiveness of L-Dopa was abolished by administration of a D2 antagonist and was fully reproduced by a D2 agonist. In conclusion, this patient presented a complex postencephalitic, extrapyramidal syndrome, with akinetic symptoms and involuntary movements. These symptoms appeared to be related to a limited lesion of the dopaminergic neurons of the zona compacta of the substantia nigra.
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PMID:Postencephalitic stereotyped involuntary movements responsive to L-Dopa. 886 99

The pandemic of von Economo's disease which began in January 1917 preceded that of influenza of 1918-1919 by more than a year. Though it has been customary to link the two it seems unlikely that the latter was responsible for the former as has been proposed. It has been assumed that von Economo's disease (ED) was caused by a virus; but in fact the etiology is in question as no virus has yet been transmitted to experimental animals or cells in culture. However, the presence of oligoclonal IgG bands in the CSF of suspected cases and the finding of chronic active lesions in the brain tissue at autopsy suggests a viral etiology. Occasional, sporadic presumed cases of the disease have been reported within the last 25 years. Encephalitides due to established neurotropic viruses or to other viruses that may on occasion invade the CNS only rarely produce parkinsonism, and when they do it differs from that seen in ED. The present report reviews the overall concept of a viral etiology of Parkinson's disease with particular reference to von Economo's disease.
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PMID:Postencephalitic parkinsonism--a review. 982 9

Encephalitis lethargica (EL; epidemic encephalitis; von Economo's disease) often presented with a movement disorder, and the motor consequences of postencephalitic parkinsonism (PEP) were characteristic of the chronic sequelae of this condition. PEP was similar to Parkinson's disease but was more variable and had some distinct features such as oculogyric crises. Although two previous publications have included video images of the movement disorders associated with EL and PEP, the sequences presented were typically short, showed only a few patients, and did not include the work of several neurologists who had the foresight to preserve filmed images of their patients. We describe the most complete record of EL and PEP moving images that have been preserved and make them available in edited form.
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PMID:Movement disorders associated with encephalitis lethargica: a video compilation. 1620 May 38

Whether chronic hallucinations belong to the natural history of untreated Parkinson disease (PD) remains undetermined. For early authors such as Gowers or Charcot and his followers, hallucinations that occurred in the course of PD either accompanied the final phase of the disease or reflected comorbidities. However, a few authors observed that hallucinations could occur in PD patients with severe depression, confusion, or dementia. Interest in hallucinations with parkinsonism increased with the outbreak of von Economo encephalitis, as they were more frequent than in PD, provoking new pathophysiologic questions. Later studies on mental symptoms in parkinsonism were often based on series that pooled patients with PD and postencephalitic syndromes, confounding a clear analysis. It remains difficult to estimate the prevalence of hallucinations in the natural course of PD before the introduction of levodopa therapy. The lack of prospective studies, the wide early use of anticholinergics and ergots compounds, and the absence of dementia with Lewy bodies in the nosology of the time are further limitations. Even with these limitations, historical descriptions of PD from the prelevodopa era suggest that hallucinations may be part of PD itself, especially in the context of late dementia, depression, or nonspecific encephalopathy.
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PMID:Hallucinations in Parkinson disease in the prelevodopa era. 1640 53

Constantin von Economo's (CvE) main scientific achievements were his studies on the cytoarchitectonics of the cerebral cortex, sleep, and encephalitis lethargica (EL). He found a close relationship between motor symptoms and psychiatric and behavioral disorders in EL and postencephalitic Parkinsonism and identified the underlying neuropathology in the diencephalon and the brainstem. In agreement with Tretiakoff's findings in Parkinson's disease, CvE related postencephalitic Parkinsonism to neuronal loss in the substantia nigra. Several of CvE's early, less well-known publications also deal with the basal ganglia and movement disorders. He demonstrated in rabbits that the substantia nigra modulates automatization, coordination, and succession of masticatory movements and swallowing. In a study on the effects of experimental lesions of the cerebral peduncle in cats and monkeys, CvE hypothesized a corticotegmental pathway that maintains motor functions after pyramidal tract lesions. Recent studies have identified this pathway, which ends in the pedunculopontine nucleus. In a study on posthemiplegic chorea, CvE discussed various pathophysiological hypotheses that partly resemble modern concepts of chorea. In a clinicopathological study on Wilson's disease, CvE traced the striofugal fibers and visualized the basal ganglia outflow pathways. CvE was an outstanding multidisciplinary movement disorder specialist who contributed substantially to modern basal ganglia research.
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PMID:Constantin von Economo's contribution to the understanding of movement disorders. 1729 Apr 63

Parkinson's disease is a debilitating neurological disorder that affects 1-2% of the adult population over 55 years of age. For the vast majority of cases, the etiology of this disorder is unknown, although it is generally accepted that there is a genetic susceptibility to any number of environmental agents. One such agent may be viruses. It has been shown that numerous viruses can enter the nervous system, i.e. they are neurotropic, and induce a number of encephalopathies. One of the secondary consequences of these encephalopathies can be parkinsonism, that is both transient as well as permanent. One of the most highlighted and controversial cases of viral parkinsonism is that which followed the 1918 influenza outbreak and the subsequent induction of von Economo's encephalopathy. In this review, we discuss the neurological sequelae of infection by influenza virus as well as that of other viruses known to induce parkinsonism including Coxsackie, Japanese encephalitis B, St. Louis, West Nile and HIV viruses.
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PMID:Viral parkinsonism. 1876 Mar 50


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