Performance of a cost-effective olfactory test to evaluate hyposmia in Parkinson's disease patients.

Background:  Parkinson's disease (PD) causes motor and non-motor symptoms such as hyposmia, which is evaluated through olfactory tests in the clinical practice.

Objective:  To assess the feasibility of using the modified Connecticut Chemosensory Clinical Research Center (mCCCRC) olfactory test and to compare its performance with the Sniffin' Sticks-12 (SS-12, Burghart Messtechnik GmbH, Wedel, Germany) test.

Methods:  A transversal case-control study in which the patients were divided into the PD group (PDG) and the control group (CG).

Altered Cerebral Vasoreactivity on Transcranial Color-Coded Sonography Related to Akinetic-Rigid Phenotype of Parkinson's Disease: Interim Analysis of a Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: A correlation between worse functional outcomes in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVD) or the Akinetic-rigid phenotype has been argued in recent studies. We aimed to evaluate the association of cerebral hemodynamics impairments, assessed by Transcranial Color-coded Doppler sonography (TCCS), on PD patients with different phenotypes of the disease and with risk factors for CVD.

Methodology: Idiopathic PD patients (n = 51) were divided into motor subtypes: Akinetic-rigid (AR) (n = 27) and Tremor-dominant (TD) (n = 24) and into two groups regarding vascular risk factors: when ≥2 were present (PDvasc) (n = 18) and <2 (PDnvasc) (n = 33).

rs3851179 Polymorphism at 5' to the PICALM Gene is Associated with Alzheimer and Parkinson Diseases in Brazilian Population.

Alzheimer's (AD) and Parkinson's diseases (PD) share clinical and pathological features, suggesting that they could have common pathogenic mechanisms, as well as overlapping genetic modifiers. Here, we performed a case-control study in a Brazilian population to clarify whether the risk of AD and PD might be influenced by shared polymorphisms at PICALM (rs3851179), CR1 (rs6656401) and CLU (rs11136000) genes, which were previously identified as AD risk factors by genome-wide association studies. For this purpose, 174 late-onset AD patients, 166 PD patients and 176 matched controls were genotyped using TaqMan assays.

Brief considerations on the dispensation profile of the botulinum toxin type A by the Brazilian Unified Health System for treatment of dystonias: Datasus data.

Botulinum toxin injections are the most effective approach for the treatment of focal dystonia. Despite growing demand and clinical indications over the years, there are few reports or publications of its use and benefit to patients seen at the Sistema Único de Saúde - SUS (Unified Health System). Analyzing the Datasus data (Unified Health System Information Department of Brazilian Ministry of Health), it was noticed that in Brazil the percentage of dystonic patient benefited from this procedure is still low.

Genetic analysis of PARK2 and PINK1 genes in Brazilian patients with early-onset Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is the second most frequent neurodegenerative disorder in the world, affecting 1-2% of individuals over the age of 65. The etiology of Parkinson's disease is complex, with the involvement of gene-environment interactions. Although it is considered a disease of late manifestation, early-onset forms of parkinsonism contribute to 5-10% of all cases.

Exon dosage variations in Brazilian patients with Parkinson's disease: analysis of SNCA, PARKIN, PINK1 and DJ-1 genes.

Parkinson's disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders associated with aging, reaching ∼ 2% of individuals over 65 years. Knowledge achieved in the last decade about the genetic basis of Parkinson's disease clearly shows that genetic factors play an important role in the etiology of this disorder. Exon dosage variations account for a high proportion of Parkinson's disease mutations, mainly for PARKIN gene.

Transcranial sonography as a diagnostic tool for Parkinson's disease: a pilot study in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Unlabelled: In Brazil there is no systematic study on Transcranial Sonography (TCS), a neuroimaging method that depicts echogenic deep brain structures using ultrasound.

Objective: To establish the percentage of subjects with permissive temporal windows and to address the ability of TCS of the substantia nigra (SN) to distinguish parkinsonian patients in a Brazilian sample.

Method: We performed TCS using the Acuson X300 (Siemens, Germany) in 37 individuals: 23 with Parkinson's disease (PD) and 14 healthy controls.

Mutational analysis of GIGYF2, ATP13A2 and GBA genes in Brazilian patients with early-onset Parkinson's disease.

In the last decade, several genes have been linked to Parkinson's disease (PD), including GIGYF2, ATP13A2 and GBA. To explore whether mutations in these genes contribute to development of PD in the Brazilian population, we screened 110 patients with early-onset PD. No clearly pathogenic mutations were identified in ATP13A2 and GIGYF2.

Parkinsonism and AIDS: a clinical comparative study before and after HAART.

In 2002, after analyzing 28 HIV-positive patients with movement disorders we emphasized the decreasing not only of Parkinsonism but also of other involuntary movements in HIV patients in the last few years. The objective of this study is to compare the clinical results between HIV-positive patients with Parkinsonism before and after HAART. In 14 years (1986-1999) 2,460 HIV-positive patients were seen in our Hospital 14 (0.

Bedside assessment of swallowing in stroke: water tests are not enough.

Objective: The clinical functional evaluation is the usual method for dysphagia screening in patients with acute stroke. This study compared two methods of evaluation--with liquid and semisolid viscosities.

Method: Twenty-six patients with stroke onset within 7 days--with a mean age of 63.

A study of LRRK2 mutations and Parkinson's disease in Brazil.

Mutations in the Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are known as a common cause of Parkinson's disease (PD) among patients from different geographic origins. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence of LRRK2 mutations in exons 31 and 41 in a cohort of 154 consecutive, unrelated Brazilian patients with familial or sporadic PD, including early and late onset patients. The LRRK2 p.

Scintigraphic analysis of the parotid glands in patients with sialorrhea and Parkinson's disease.

Since sialorrhea was initially described, it has been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) but until now little is known about its pathophysiology. The authors studied parotid gland activity using scintigraphic analysis on 14 PD patients with sialorrhea and in eight healthy persons with matching ages. There was no difference between uptake and intra-glandular distribution by the parotid gland in the two groups but the parotid excretion speed in the PD patients was greater than that observed in healthy individuals.

Movement disorders in 28 HIV-infected patients.

From 1986 to 1999, 2460 HIV-positive inpatients were seen in our Hospital. Neurological abnormalities were detected in 1053 (42.8%) patients.