Juan Carlos Martínez-Castrillo

Efficacy of long‐term continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion in advanced Parkinson's disease with motor fluctuations: A multicenter study

Continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion (CSAI) is, at present, an alternative option for advanced Parkinsons disease (PD) with motor fluctuations. We studied the evolution of patients with PD and severe motor fluctuations long‐term treated with CSAI. We reviewed data from 82 patients with PD (mean age, 67 ± 11.07; disease duration, 14.39 ± 5.7 years) and severe motor fluctuations referred to 35 tertiary hospitals in Spain. These patients were long‐term treated (for at least 3 months) with CSAI and tolerated the procedure without serious side effects. We compared the baseline data of these 82 patients (before CSAI) with those obtained from the last follow‐up visit of each patient. The mean follow‐up of CSAI was 19.93 ± 16.3 months. Mean daily dose of CSAI was 72.00 ± 21.38 mg run over 14.05 ± 1.81 hours. We found a statistically significant reduction in off‐hours, according to self‐scoring diaries (6.64 ± 3.09 vs. 1.36 ± 1.42 hours/day, P < 0.0001), total and motor UPDRS scores (P < 0.0001), dyskinesia severity (P < 0.0006), and equivalent dose of antiparkinsonian therapy (1,405 ± 536.7 vs. 800.1 ± 472.9 mg of levodopa equivalent units P < 0.0001). CSAI is an effective option for patients with PD and severe fluctuations, poorly controlled by conventional oral drug treatment.

Documento de consensoEnfermedad de Parkinson avanzada. Características clínicas y tratamiento. Parte IIAdvanced Parkinson's disease: Clinical characteristics and treatment. Part II

INTRODUCTION Many patients who have had Parkinsons disease (PD) for several years will present severe motor fluctuations and dyskinesias which require more aggressive therapies. The different approaches which are now available include deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus or medial globus pallidus, subcutaneous infusion of apomorphine, and intestinal infusion of levodopa-carbidopa. OBJECTIVE To define the indications and results for the 3 available therapies for advanced PD. DEVELOPMENT Exhaustive review of the literature concerning the indications and results of deep brain stimulation, subcutaneous apomorphine infusion and duodenal infusion of levodopa/carbidopa gel to treat patients with advanced Parkinson disease. CONCLUSIONS Although numerous studies have confirmed the efficacy of the 3 different therapies in advanced PD, there are no comparative studies that would allow us to define the best candidate for each technique.

Enfermedad de Parkinson avanzada. Características clínicas y tratamiento (parte I)

INTRODUCTION A large percentage of patients with Parkinsons disease (PD) develop motor fluctuations, dyskinesias, and severe non-motor symptoms within 3 to 5 years of starting dopaminergic therapy, and these motor complications are refractory to treatment. Several authors refer to this stage of the disease as advanced Parkinsons disease. OBJECTIVE To define the clinical manifestations of advanced PD and the risk factors for reaching this stage of the disease. DEVELOPMENT This consensus document has been prepared by using an exhaustive literature search and by discussion of the contents by an expert group on movement disorders of the Sociedad Española de Neurología (Spanish Neurology Society), coordinated by two of the authors (JK and MRL). CONCLUSIONS Severe motor fluctuations and dyskinesias, axial motor symptoms resistant to levodopa, and cognitive decline are the main signs in the clinical phenotype of advanced PD.

Acute paroxysmal dystonia induced by fluoxetine

We report a case of a 32‐year‐old woman who developed paroxysmal episodes of right hemidystonia 2 days after taking fluoxetine. The attacks subsided 2 days after fluoxetine was withdrawn and did not recur afterwards. To our knowledge, this is the first report of paroxysmal dystonia induced by fluoxetine.

Sonography for Diagnosis of Parkinson Disease—From Theory to Practice A Study on 300 Participants

Hyperechogenicity of the substantia nigra on transcranial sonography is used for diagnosing Parkinson disease (PD). Cutoff values for the substantia nigra echogenic area, defining substantia nigra hyperechogenicity, vary among ultrasound systems from different manufacturers. In this study we wanted to determine the cutoff criterion for a Toshiba (Tokyo, Japan) system and to assess its diagnostic value.

Analysis of four scales for global severity evaluation in Parkinson’s disease

Global evaluations of Parkinson’s disease (PD) severity are available, but their concordance and accuracy have not been previously tested. The present international, cross-sectional study was aimed at determining the agreement level among four global scales for PD (Hoehn and Yahr, HY; Clinical Global Impression of Severity, CGIS; Clinical Impression of Severity Index, CISI-PD; and Patient Global Impression of Severity, PGIS) and identifying which of them better correlates with itemized PD assessments. Assessments included additional scales for evaluation of the movement impairment, disability, affective disorders, and quality of life. Spearman correlation coefficients, weighted and generalized kappa, and Kendall’s concordance coefficient were used. Four hundred thirty three PD patients, 66% in HY stages 2 or 3, mean disease duration 8.8 years, were analyzed. Correlation between the global scales ranged from 0.60 (HY with PGIS) to 0.91 (CGIS with CISI-PD). Kendall’s coefficient of concordance resulted 0.76 (P<0.0001). HY and CISI-PD showed the highest association with age, disease duration, and levodopa-equivalent daily dose, and CISI-PD with measures of PD manifestations, disability, and quality of life. PGIS and CISI-PD correlated similarly with anxiety and depression scores. The lowest agreement in classifying patients as mild, moderate, or severe was observed between PGIS and HY or CISI-PD (58%) and the highest between CGIS and CISI-PD (84.3%). The four PD global severity scales agree moderately to strongly among them; clinician-based ratings estimate PD severity, as established by other measures, better than PGIS; and the CISI-PD showed the highest association with measures of impairment, disability, and quality of life.

Lack of Validation of Variants Associated With Cervical Dystonia Risk: A GWAS Replication Study

A recent genome‐wide association study (GWAS) has identified a putative association, not statistically confirmed, of cervical dystonia within several regions in a British population. Hence, the authors proposed dysfunction of the ion channel NALCN (for sodium leak channel, nonselective) as a plausible cause of cervical dystonia. The objective of our study was to investigate the association of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously reported with high signals as putative genetic risk factors for cervical dystonia in a British GWAS, including two located in the NALCN gene region.

BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in primary adult-onset dystonia: A case-control study and meta-analysis

A polymorphism in brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Val66Met) has been reported as a risk factor in primary dystonia. However, overall the results have been inconclusive. Our aim was to clarify the association of Val66Met with primary dystonia, and with the most prevalent clinical subtypes, cervical dystonia and blepharospasm.

Ancient representation of Meige's syndrome in the Moche culture in the pre-Columbian Peru.

The Moches were a pre‐Columbian culture from Peru, who had a fine ceramic technique and used to represent diseases. One example is the potter presented here which represents a man with a probable Meiges syndrome and may be the first artistic representation of this disease.

Substantia Nigra Echogenicity Predicts Response to Drug Withdrawal in Suspected Drug-Induced Parkinsonism

Response to drug withdrawal in patients with suspected drug‐induced parkinsonism (DIP) is of prognostic and therapeutic importance, but cannot be predicted solely on clinical information. The aim of this study was to validate SN hyperechogenicity (SN+) assessed by transcranial sonography as a predictor of response to drug withdrawal in this group of patients.