Creation of a gene expression classifier for predicting Parkinson's disease rate of progression.

Parkinson's disease (PD) etiology is heterogeneous, genetic, and multi-factorial, resulting in a varied disease from a mild slow progression to a more severe rapid progression. Prognostic information on the nature of the patient's disease at diagnosis aids the physician in counseling patients on treatment options and life planning. In a cohort of PD patients from the PPMI study, the relative gene expression levels of SKP1A, UBE2K, ALDH1A1, PSMC4, HSPA8 and LAMB2 were measured in baseline blood samples by real-time quantitative PCR.

Inhibitors of MAO-A and MAO-B in Psychiatry and Neurology.

Inhibitors of MAO-A and MAO-B are in clinical use for the treatment of psychiatric and neurological disorders respectively. Elucidation of the molecular structure of the active sites of the enzymes has enabled a precise determination of the way in which substrates and inhibitor molecules are metabolized, or inhibit metabolism of substrates, respectively. Despite the knowledge of the strong antidepressant efficacy of irreversible MAO inhibitors, their clinical use has been limited by their side effect of potentiation of the cardiovascular effects of dietary amines ("cheese effect").

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with cognitive training is a safe and effective modality for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease: clinical experience.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of dementia among the elderly. Common treatments available and non-pharmacological interventions have their limitations, and new therapeutic approaches are critically needed. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive technique that generates an electric current-inducing modulation in cortical excitability.

Frequent misdiagnosis of adult polyglucosan body disease.

Adult polyglucosan body disease (APBD) is a rare glycogenosis manifesting progressive spastic paraparesis, sensorimotor polyneuropathy and neurogenic bladder. Misdiagnosis of APBD may lead to unnecessary investigations and to potentially harmful therapeutic interventions. To examine the frequency of misdiagnosis of APBD, we retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of 30 patients diagnosed between 1991 and 2013.