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)

Shy-Drager syndrome (SDS) is a subtype of multiple system atrophy (MSA) with the clinical predominance of autonomic failure. The differential diagnosis between SDS and Parkinson's disease (PD) can sometimes be difficult clinically. The features favoring a clinical diagnosis of SDS are marked orthostatic hypotension, erectile impotence in males, urinary symptoms, nocturnal stridor, rigidity and akinesia without tremors, levodopa unresponsiveness, cerebellar signs, cerebellar atrophy on brain CT scans and MRI.
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PMID:[Shy-Drager syndrome and multiple system atrophy]. 901 36

Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is not rare disease, because in our clinic 13 patients were observed for the past 8 years, with ratio to those with Parkinson's disease being 1:18. Our clinical criteria of this disease consist of the combination of 1) limb-kinetic apraxia as cortical sign, 2) akinetic-rigid sign as extrapyramidal sign, 3) their marked asymmetry, and as additional findings, 4) the presence of grasp reflex, alien hand sign, reflex myoclonus, limb dystonia, and others, and 5) neuroimagings (MRI, SPECT) suggestive of asymmetric cortical lesions. There are reports indicating that clinical CBD was diagnosed as Pick's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy and Alzheimer's disease, pathologically. Therefore, more basic investigations, especially from molecular biology are necessary to discriminate these corticobasal complex disorders.
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PMID:[Cortico-basal degeneration]. 901 38

6-[18F]-fluorodopa (FDOPA) was developed as an analogue of L-DOPA across the blood-brain-barrier and to carry into nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. PET study using FDOPA revealed presynaptic dopaminergic function in the striatum of nigrostriatal system of the human brain and many studies have performed to clarify the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. FDOPA is also an efficient tracer to analyze pharmacokinetics of L-DOPA by measuring radioactivities of its metabolites in the peripheral blood by HPLC and to evaluate pharmacological effects on dopamine metabolism by pretreatment of dopa decarboxylase inhibitor or COMT inhibitor. PET study using FDOPA is useful not only to diagnose Parkinson's disease but also to differentiate from parkinsonism in combination with other radioactive ligands and with other neuroimaging methods such as MRI.
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PMID:[PET study using 6-[18F]-fluorodopa in Parkinson's disease]. 901 52

We tested the efficacy, stability and predictors of outcome of unilateral pallidotomy used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease inadequately controlled with pharmacotherapy (IP). The surgical procedure was as simple as possible; we used CT rather than MRI, and we omitted microelectrode recording. We studied 24 patients with IP; 22 of these patients had drug-induced dyskinesias. There was a significant and stable improvement in all the major parkinsonian motor signs in the OFF (medication) state on the contralateral side. In the ON (medication) state peak-dose dyskinesias were alleviated on the contralateral side. The only significant and stable change on the ipsilateral side was improvement in dyskinesias less marked than on the contralateral side. The improvement in Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor scores in the OFF state increased with age. The improvement in total dyskinesia scores occurred irrespective of age, but increased with duration of disease, duration of dyskinesias and baseline severity of dyskinesias. Five patients had transient neurological complications while facial paresis was permanent in one subject. Our results are similar to those obtained by others who used the time consuming microelectrode recording technique for localization. By simplifying the procedure in the way that we describe, the operation could become available to a greater number of patients.
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PMID:Efficacy, stability and predictors of outcome of pallidotomy for Parkinson's disease. Six-month follow-up with additional 1-year observations. 918 46

We studied the effects of medial pallidotomy in the first 20 consecutive patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) undergoing this MRI/electrophysiologically guided procedure at our institution. The mean age of patients was 65.5 years (median 66.5) and none suffered any serious complications. Pallidotomy significantly improved motor function in both "on" and "off" states as measured by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor scores and timed tests (Purdue pegboard and counter tapping) in the arm contralateral to surgery 3 months postoperatively. Patients also improved in terms of activities of daily living, reflected by improved UPDRS activity of daily living and complications of therapy scoring and reduced levodopa-induced dyskinesias; six of 11 patients who could not walk in an "off" state prior to surgery could do so postoperatively. The total UPDRS score improved by 22% from preoperative values. The aforementioned improvements occurred similarly in patients greater than (n = 11) or less than 65 years (n = 9) at surgery. Neuropsychological measures indicated that although the majority of cognitive function remains unchanged in right-handed PD patients following dominant (left) hemisphere pallidotomy, mild specific declines in word generation are present. The findings of this study suggest that unilateral pallidotomy is safe and associated with improved motor functioning in elderly as well as younger PD patients experiencing significant disability despite optimal medical therapy.
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PMID:Unilateral pallidotomy for Parkinson's disease: comparison of outcome in younger versus elderly patients. 933 92

We assessed the utility of preoperative clinical assessment and functional brain imaging with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and positron emission tomography (PET) in predicting the clinical outcome of stereotaxic pallidotomy for the treatment of advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-two PD patients undergoing posteroventral pallidotomy were assessed preoperatively with the Core Assessment Program for Intracerebral Transplantation (CAPIT) ratings measured on and off levodopa; quantitative FDG/PET was also performed before surgery. Preoperative clinical and metabolic measurements were correlated with changes in off-state CAPIT ratings determined 3 months after surgery. Clinical outcome following pallidotomy was also correlated with intraoperative measures of spontaneous pallidal single-unit activity as well as postoperative MRI measurements of lesion volume and location. We found that unilateral pallidotomy resulted in variable clinical improvement in off-state CAPIT scores for the contralateral limbs (mean change 30.9 +/- 15.5%). Postoperative MRI revealed that pallidotomy lesions were comparable in location and volume across the patients. Clinical outcome following surgery correlated significantly with preoperative measures of CAPIT score change with levodopa administration (r = 0.60, p < 0.005) and with preoperative FDG/PET measurements of lentiform glucose metabolism (r = 0.71, p < 0.0005). Operative outcome did not correlate with intraoperative measures of spontaneous pallidal neuronal firing rate. We conclude that preoperative measurements of lentiform glucose metabolism and levodopa responsiveness may be useful indicators of motor improvement following pallidotomy. Both preoperative quantitative measures, either singly or in combination, may be helpful in selecting optimal candidates for surgery.
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PMID:Preoperative indicators of clinical outcome following stereotaxic pallidotomy. 933 94

Over the last decade multiple system atrophy (MSA) has been confirmed as a distinct clinicopathological entity. For a long time, overlapping pathology in individual cases with striatonigral degeneration (SND), sporadic olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) or Shy-Drager syndrome (SDS) had often been a source of confusion. The recently discovered glial and neuronal inclusions indeed confirm that these three disorders represent manifestations of the same disease. Parkinsonism is the most frequent motor disorder of MSA. Early diagnosis of these patients is difficult but important, particularly in clinical trials of potential therapies. Patients with only parkinsonism (+/- autonomic failure) account for much of this diagnostic difficulty, particularly early on. Some features that have been associated with SND such as symmetry or absence of tremor are not helpful, and insistence on a poor levodopa response will miss a sizeable minority of patients. A number of further clinical 'red flags' may be helpful. MRI, MRS, PET and SPECT scanning, autonomic function tests and, especially, external sphincter EMG, may also help differentiate between idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and MSA. Available medical treatments are usually disappointing, so that good therapy services are all the more important. Better animal models of MSA and evaluation of novel treatment strategies are urgently required, and grafting techniques currently applied to IPD and Huntington's disease (HD) patients might be usefully combined in MSA. Epidemiological and case-control studies are needed to determine the prevalence, incidence and risk factors of MSA. The pathogenesis of MSA remains uncertain. Until the discovery of glial cytoplasmic inclusions (GCIs) previous studies had failed to identify abnormalities relevant to pathogenesis rather than reflecting secondary change. The abundance of GCIs points to a fundamental cytoskeletal alteration in glial cells that may eventually result in neuronal degeneration. Mechanisms of formation and distribution of GCIs as well as disordered glial-neuronal interactions should be studied in more detail in MSA brains.
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PMID:Parkinsonism. Multiple system atrophy. 942 75

The objective of this study was to describe the incidence and types of visual field defects after posterior globus pallidus internus (GPi) pallidotomy for Parkinson's disease. The creation of the pallidotomy lesion carries a risk of damaging neighboring structures such as the optic tract. The reported frequency of visual field defects in patients after pallidotomy varies from 0 to 40%. Goldmann visual field testing was performed on 40 patients who underwent microelectrode-guided posterior GPi pallidotomy. The optic tract was identified during the procedure by listening during microelectrode recording for the evoked responses to light flashes and by assessing stimulation-induced subjective responses. After the first 18 patients, lesioning thresholds were increased from 0.5 to > or =1.0 mA so that the lesion was placed more distant from the optic tract. The location of individual lesions was determined on postsurgical MRI. Three patients (7.5%) had visual field defects likely related to the pallidotomy. These were contralateral homonymous superior quadrantanopias, associated in two patients with small paracentral scotomas. The incidence of visual field defects with the early technique was 11% (2/18) and decreased to 4.5% (1/22) after thresholds for lesioning were increased. Except for the location of the lesion relative to the optic tract (more ventral, adjacent to or extending into the optic tract), no other variable correlated with a post-pallidotomy visual field defect. Microelectrode-guided GPi pallidotomy is a relatively safe procedure as regards visual function even when the optic tract is used as a guide for lesion placement.
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PMID:Visual fields in patients with posterior GPi pallidotomy. 944 89

This study was designed to investigate the influence of white matter hyperintensities (WMH) on clinical features of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The study subjects were 44 patients with PD who took a brain MRI. The severity of Parkinsonian symptoms was assessed in both 'on' and 'off' states, using the UPDRS-motor score. Thirteen patients (30%) showed WMH. The patients with WMH were significantly older than those without WMH (67 +/- 5.7 vs 60 +/- 6.4 years). In both 'off' and 'on' states, the gait scores were significantly higher in patients with WMH than in those without WMH (1.6 +/- 0.18 vs 1.1 +/- 0.12, P < 0.05), but other motor symptom (tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity) scores between the two patient groups were not statistically different. After taking a single dose of oral levodopa/benserazide (200mg/50mg), the patients with WMH showed significantly less improvement in bradykinesia score than those without WMH (25 +/- 4.1% vs 40 +/- 4.0%, P < 0.05), but the improvements in other symptoms were comparable between the two groups. These results suggest that WMH on MRI may influence Parkinsonian motor symptoms, particularly gait symptom and levodopa-responsiveness to bradykinesia symptom.
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PMID:The influence of white matter hyperintensities on the clinical features of Parkinson's disease. 952 85

For patients with Parkinson's disease who have become unresponsive to pharmacotherapy or have developed severe motor complications due to medical therapy, a number of symptomatic neurosurgical interventions are available: thalamotomy, thalamic stimulation and pallidotomy. These stereotactic operations are performed under local anaesthesia. The target is located using anatomical and physiological techniques, after which the neuro-ablative or neuromodulatory procedure is performed. The choice of the target depends on the symptoms of the patient that most impair daily functioning. In case of dominating tremor, thalamic surgery is performed. Patients who are mainly incapacitated by rigidity, hypokinesia or pharmacotherapy-induced dyskinesias are suitable candidates for pallidotomy. Contraindications are cognitive dysfunction, severe disturbance of gait and balance, advanced cerebral atrophy on CT or MRI, limited life expectancy and a poor general condition enhancing surgical risk, e.g. coagulation disorders or uncontrolled hypertension. Surgical treatment of Parkinson's disease is being carried out in clinical trials in the Netherlands in the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam, the Academic Hospital in Groningen and the St. Elisabeth Hospital in Tilburg.
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PMID:[Neurosurgical stereotactic treatment in Parkinson's disease]. 955 82


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