Postural Abnormality in Parkinson's Disease: A Large Comparative Study With General Population.

Background: Postural abnormalities in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and unimpaired elderly are not well differentiated. Factors related to postural abnormality associated with PD are controversial.

Objective: We assessed differences in postural change between PD patients and unimpaired elderly and elucidated factors related to abnormal posture in PD patients.

Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis With High-Dose Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Calcineurin Inhibitors Caused Spontaneous Muscle Cramps in Patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of treatment with cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) and calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) on the occurrence of cramps in myasthenia gravis (MG) patients.

Methods: The frequency and duration of cramp and serum electrolytes were evaluated in 81 patients with MG. The patients were classified using Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America postintervention status scores based on the treatment and the responsiveness to the treatment.

Kinematic analysis of 24-hour recording of walking pattern in patients with vascular parkinsonism.

Background: There is a need to define the basic characteristics of various kinematic parameters recorded during walking in patients with vascular parkinsonism (VP). The present study was designed to determine the kinematic features of walking in VP patients. For this purpose, gait acceleration and gait cycle were recorded continuously over 24-h period of daily living in VP patients, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and healthy subjects.

Japanese cases of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder associated with myasthenia gravis and a review of the literature.

Background: The incidence of concurrent myasthenia gravis (MG) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is higher than what chance predicts, yet it remains unclear why MG and NMOSD appear concurrently.

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the clinical features of the concurrence of these diseases.

Methods: Clinical details were analyzed retrospectively.

Human turnover dynamics during sleep: statistical behavior and its modeling.

Turnover is a typical intermittent body movement while asleep. Exploring its behavior may provide insights into the mechanisms and management of sleep. However, little is understood about the dynamic nature of turnover in healthy humans and how it can be modified in disease.

Evaluation of the efficacy of pramipexole for treating levodopa-induced dyskinesia in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Objective: The long-term use of levodopa to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) is often limited by the development of motor complications (e.g., levodopa-induced dyskinesia, LID).

How far do the complaints of patients with Parkinson's disease reflect motor fluctuation? Quantitative analysis using a portable gait rhythmogram.

In advanced-stage Parkinson's disease (PD), motor fluctuation is a frequent and disabling problem. Assessment of motor fluctuation depends on patient's subjective self-statement. We examined whether the subjective fluctuation matched the objective motor fluctuation defined by gait disorders.

Independent regulation of the cycle and acceleration in parkinsonian gait analyzed by a long-term daily monitoring system.

Background: Few reports have objectively assessed gait patterns of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in their daily lives. We investigated the mean gait cycle and mean gait acceleration using a portable gait rhythmogram (PGR).

Method: We continuously recorded PGR measurements for 24 h in 64 PD patients with the ability to independently engage in activities of daily living.

[The MG-QOL15 Japanese version: validation and associations with clinical factors].

We produced a Japanese translation of the 15-item myasthenia gravis (MG)-specific quality of life (QOL) scale (MG-QOL15), assessed its reliability and validity, and examined clinical factors affecting the self-perceived QOL in MG. Consecutive 327 patients with MG seen at six neurological centers were evaluated. All patients completed an MG-QOL15 Japanese version (MG-QOL15-J), the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II), and a generic health-related QOL questionnaire, the SF-36.

Deficits in scaling of gait force and cycle in parkinsonian gait identified by long-term monitoring of acceleration with the portable gait rhythmogram.

To examine the range of gait acceleration and cycle in daily walking of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), we compared the gait of 40 patients with PD and 17 normal controls by using a newly developed long-term monitoring device that extracts gait-related accelerations from overall movements-related accelerations. The range of change in gait acceleration, relative to the control, was less than 75% in 12 patients. The range of change in gait cycle was less than 75% in 8 patients.

The relationship between visuospatial ability and cognitive function in patients with right-hemisphere infarction.

Introduction: The relationship between visuospatial ability and cognitive function is still controversial among the patients with right-hemisphere damage.

Aim: To elucidate the relationship between the visuospatial ability and cognitive function in patients with right-hemisphere infarction, we analyzed the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) and behavioral inattention test (BIT).

Methods: The present study was based on 54 right-handed patients (35 men, 19 women; 69.

The MG-QOL15 Japanese version: validation and associations with clinical factors.

Introduction: Our study aim was to produce a Japanese translation of the 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality-of-Life Scale (MG-QOL15), assess its reliability and validity, and examine clinical factors affecting self-perceived QOL in MG.

Methods: We evaluated 327 consecutive patients with MG seen at six neurological centers. All patients completed the Japanese version of the MG-QOL15 (MG-QOL15-J), the Beck Depression Inventory-second edition (BDI-II), and a generic health-related QOL questionnaire, the SF-36.

Long-term effects of cabergoline and levodopa in Japanese patients with early Parkinson's disease: a 5-year prospective study.

Several international studies have suggested that treatment of early Parkinson's disease (PD) with a dopamine agonist instead of levodopa delays the occurrence of motor complications. This 5-year prospective, open, multicenter randomized study aimed to compare the effects of cabergoline on the onset of motor complications with those of levodopa in Japanese patients with early PD. Patients who had never been treated with dopamine agonists or levodopa were enrolled in this study.

Regional cerebral blood flow patterns in patients with freezing of gait due to lacunar infarction: SPECT study using three-dimensional stereotactic surface projections.

Background: Although freezing of gait (FOG) is reportedly caused by cerebrovascular disease, few studies have examined its pathology. We examined regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns in patients with FOG resulting from chronic lacunar infarction using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).

Methods: Among patients with chronic lacunar infarction treated at our outpatient unit, we performed N-isopropyl-p-[(123)I]-iodoamphetamine SPECT in seven patients with FOG (FOG group) and in 20 patients without FOG (non-FOG group).

Quantitative assessment of gait bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease using a portable gait rhythmogram.

To quantify gait bradykinesia during daily activity in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), we measured movement-induced accelerations over more than 24h in 50 patients with PD and 17 age-matched normal controls, using a new device, the portable gait rhythmogram. Acceleration values induced by various movements, averaged each 10 min, exhibited a gamma distribution. The mean value of the distribution curve was used as an index of the "amount of overall movement per 24h".

Low-dose glucocorticoid therapy complements the pituitary-adrenocortical system and reduces anxiety and insomnia in myasthenia gravis patients.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder generally mediated by antibodies against the acetylcholine receptors of the skeletal muscles. Depending on the disease burden, MG patients may experience chronic dysregulation of both the hormonal stress axis and the immune system, consequently, aggravating the disease itself but also leading to secondary psychopathological abnormalities. A long-term clinical course requires long-term glucocorticoid (GC) therapy, which may change the psychological state by affecting the pituitary-adrenocortical system in MG patients.

Effects of inorganic and organic arsenic compounds on growth and apoptosis of human T-lymphoblastoid leukemia cells.

Background/aim: To investigate the effects of inorganic and organic arsenic compounds on human T-lymphoblastoid leukemia cells.

Materials And Methods: Cell proliferation was analyzed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5¬diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptotic cell morphology was examined by cell staining with Hoechst 33342.

Factors associated with depressive state in patients with myasthenia gravis: a multicentre cross-sectional study.

Objectives The objective of this study was to examine clinical factors associated with depressive state in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Design Cross-sectional study. Setting and participants We evaluated 287 consecutive cases of MG seen at six neurological centres located in Eastern Japan.

Relationship between NMO-antibody and anti-MOG antibody in optic neuritis.

Background: Damage to astrocytes by anti-aquaporin-4 antibody (AQP4-Ab), also known as NMO antibody, has been implicated as the cause of neuromyelitis optica. Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) is well known as the causative protein of multiple sclerosis (MS). MOG antigen is currently considered as a cause of optic neuritis (ON) associated with MS because immunization with MOG antigen derived from oligodendrocytes induces murine ON with myelitis.

Pramipexole reduces the prevalence of fatigue in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Objective: The aim of this multicenter cross-sectional study was to assess the relation between fatigue in a large number of Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and drugs taken to treat PD.

Method: We used the 16-item Parkinson Fatigue Scale (PFS-16), which was designed to assess fatigue exclusively associated with PD. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the relation between antiparkinson drugs and fatigue in PD.

Azithromycin suppresses proliferation, interleukin production and mitogen-activated protein kinases in human peripheral-blood mononuclear cells stimulated with bacterial superantigen.

Objectives: Macrolide antibiotics are used for the treatment of immunological disorders such as psoriasis. However, few studies have investigated the immunoregulatory efficacy of macrolides in bacterial superantigen-stimulated immune cells.

Methods: The suppressive efficacies of azithromycin, clarithromycin, roxithromycin and prednisolone were evaluated in vitro against the concanavalin A- or toxic shock syndrome toxin 1 (TSST-1)-induced proliferation of peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) obtained from nine healthy subjects.

Topical naphazoline in the treatment of myasthenic blepharoptosis.

Introduction: When treating ocular myasthenia gravis (MG), the risk/benefit profile of corticosteroids is unclear, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors are not very effective. We examined the efficacy of topical naphazoline in the treatment of myasthenic blepharoptosis.

Methods: Sixty MG patients with blepharoptosis (32 with ocular symptoms only and 28 with mild generalized symptoms) were enrolled in a multicenter open trial of topical naphazoline.

Clinical implication of peripheral CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells and Th17 cells in myasthenia gravis patients.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disorder generally mediated by antibodies against the acetylcholine receptors (AChR) of the skeletal muscles. CD4 T cells help B cells to produce antibodies through their production of cytokines or chemokines. In this study, we evaluated the frequency of regulatory (Treg) and IL-17 producing CD4 T-cell subsets (Th17) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with MG.

Clinical implications of the type 1/type 2 balance of helper T cells and P-glycoprotein function in peripheral T lymphocytes of myasthenia gravis patients.

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disorder mediated by antibodies against the acetylcholine receptors of the skeletal muscles. Imbalances between T helper type 1 and type 2 cytokine production play a key role in the induction and development of several autoimmune diseases. Peripheral T helper type 1 and type 2 cells in 50 myasthenia gravis patients were estimated by intracellular cytokines.

Fatigue in Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease: a study using Parkinson fatigue scale.

The objective of this multicenter cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence of fatigue and factors contributing to it in a large sample of Japanese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We used the 16-item Parkinson Fatigue Scale (PFS-16), which was designed to assess fatigue exclusively associated with PD. We carried out this study using PFS-16, the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, Zung's Self-Rating Depression Scale, Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS), and the PD quality of life (QOL) scale (PDQ-39) by interview using questionnaires and physical examination by neurologists in 361 nondemented PD patients.