Sex and Gender Differences in Parkinson's Disease.

The lower prevalence of Parkinson disease (PD) in females is not well understood but may be partially explained by sex differences in nigrostriatal circuitry and possible neuroprotective effects of estrogen. PD motor and nonmotor symptoms differ between sexes, and women experience disparities in care including undertreatment with DBS and less access to caregiving. Our knowledge about PD in gender diverse individuals is limited.

TikTok Tics: A Pandemic Within a Pandemic.

Background: TikTok is a social media platform where users create and share videos. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of this site greatly expanded. Tic and Tourette syndrome content also increased dramatically along with the number of patients with tics in neurology clinics.

An Open-Label Phase 2a Study to Evaluate the Safety and Tolerability of Perampanel in Cervical Dystonia.

Background: Cervical dystonia (CD) is the most common focal isolated dystonia. Preclinical studies report that AMPA-selective glutamate receptor antagonists improve dystonia. Perampanel is a clinically available, AMPA receptor antagonist that has shown efficacy and safety in epilepsy.

Multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation for Functional Movement Disorders: A prospective study with long term follow up.

Introduction: Functional Movement Disorders (FMDs) are challenging to treat. We assessed the effect of multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation, involving motor retraining, psychotherapy and psychotropic medication on FMD patient function and maintenance of improvement after one year.

Methods: FMD patients in a movement disorders clinic were referred for inpatient rehabilitation.

Clinical Features of Tourette Syndrome.

Tourette syndrome is a multifaceted disorder characterized by multiple motor and at least one vocal tics that start in childhood, persist for at least 1 year, and cannot be attributed to another medical condition or exposure to medications/drugs. Clinical diagnostic criteria are available, and identification of tics is typically straightforward based on characteristic appearance and features. Diagnostic uncertainty can rarely arise in cases of mild tics, atypical features, certain psychiatric comorbidities, and other non-tic movement disorders.

Mortality and morbidity among hospitalized adult patients with neurological diseases in Cameroon.

Background: There is inadequate information on the morbidity and mortality (M&M) from neurological diseases in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: To record the M&M from neurological diseases in adults in Cameroon from 2013 to 2015 using a registry and surveillance from two urban health care centers.

Methods: Records from all adult admissions from two urban hospitals over a two year period were reviewed.

The Association of Poor Academic Performance with Tic Disorders: A Longitudinal, Mainstream School-Based Population Study.

Background: Little is known about the academic performance of students with tic disorders (TD). Our aim was to investigate the association of TD and poor academic performance over time.

Methods: Longitudinal, observational study of mainstream schoolchildren comparing grade retention (GR) and learning disorders (LD) in students with vs.

The Burden of Movement Disorders in Cameroon: A Rural and Urban-Based Inpatient/Outpatient Study.

Background: Because of rapid demographic changes, the prevalence of movement disorders (MDs) is expected to increase in Africa. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of MDs in an inpatient/outpatient-based study of rural and urban health care centers in Cameroon.

Methods: In this retrospective medical chart review, the inpatient/outpatients settings covered an urban population (3,000,000) and a rural population (380,276).

Sources of Disability in Tourette Syndrome: Children vs. Adults.

Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics and neuropsychiatric co-morbidities like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD), among others. In many instances tics get better with age but this is not always true regarding the psychiatric co-morbidities.

Methods: This manuscript reviews the disease-specific Quality of Life (QOL) instruments used to measure disability in TS and the existing literature on sources of functional impairment in children and adults with TS.

A randomized clinical trial of high-dosage coenzyme Q10 in early Parkinson disease: no evidence of benefit.

Importance: Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), an antioxidant that supports mitochondrial function, has been shown in preclinical Parkinson disease (PD) models to reduce the loss of dopamine neurons, and was safe and well tolerated in early-phase human studies. A previous phase II study suggested possible clinical benefit.

Objective: To examine whether CoQ10 could slow disease progression in early PD.

Immediate vs. delayed treatment of psychogenic movement disorders with short term psychodynamic psychotherapy: randomized clinical trial.

Objective: In subjects with psychogenic movement disorders (PMDs), we conducted a 6 month randomized, cross-over design study to assess the effect of 3 months of psychodynamic psychotherapy followed by observation by the neurologist vs. observation by the neurologist, then 3 months of psychiatric intervention.

Background: PMDs are often disabling but no uniformly successful treatment strategies have been identified.

Impact of placebo assignment in clinical trials of tic disorders.

Background: Understanding the impact of placebo treatment is pivotal to the correct interpretation of clinical trials. The aim of present study was to examine the placebo effect in tic disorders.

Methods: Raw data were obtained for 6 placebo-controlled parallel and cross-over trials that involved medical interventions for tic disorders.

Association of tic disorders with poor academic performance in central Spain: a population-based study.

Objective: To analyze the association between tic disorders and poor academic performance in school-aged children.

Study Design: This was a cross-sectional, observational study conducted in a randomly selected sample of mainstream school-aged children (aged 6-16 years). The sampling frame included different types of schools and educational levels.

Psychogenic movement disorders.

Psychogenic movement disorders are common, but the diagnosis may be difficult. Visual appearance alone is typically not sufficient to make a diagnosis, but such information is certainly important. That a movement is bizarre can be helpful, but still must be considered thoughtfully since organic movement disorders can have endless variety.

Association between antipsychotics and body mass index when treating patients with tics.

Objective: Treatment with antipsychotics can be associated with weight gain, and second-generation (atypical) antipsychotics (SGAs) can increase the risk for diabetes and dyslipidemia. These risks have not been assessed in patients with tics, who receive lower doses than those used to treat psychosis. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between antipsychotic use and weight in tic patients and compare the effects of SGAs to first-generation (typical) antipsychotics (FGAs).

Complementary and alternative medicine use in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.

The aim of this study was to describe the use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) and explore associations with CAM use. In recent years CAM use has increased, but rates of CAM use in TS patients are not reported. Consecutive TS patients or their parent(s), seen in an academic movement disorder center, completed a questionnaire regarding their use of CAM.

Dysautonomia rating scales in Parkinson's disease: sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation--critique and recommendations by movement disorders task force on rating scales for Parkinson's disease.

Upper and lower gastrointestinal dysautonomia symptoms (GIDS)--sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and often socially as well as physically disabling for patients. Available invasive quantitative measures for assessing these symptoms and their response to therapy are time-consuming, require specialized equipment, can cause patient discomfort and present patients with risk. The Movement Disorders Society commissioned a task force to assess available clinical rating scales, critique their clinimetric properties, and make recommendations regarding their clinical utility.

Donepezil use in children and adolescents with tics and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: an 18-week, single-center, dose-escalating, prospective, open-label study.

Background: Striatal cholinergic dysfunction may be important in tics and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the safety profile of donepezil and whether it improves chronic tics in young patients with comorbid ADHD.

Methods: This 18-week (14 weeks of open treatment followed by a 4-week washout period), single-center, dose-escalating, prospective, open-label trial was conducted in patients aged 7 to 17 years with tics, including chronic motor or vocal tics and Tourette's syndrome, and ADHD.

Sialorrhea in Parkinson's disease: a review.

A significant number of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) experience sialorrhea. This problem can cause social embarrassment, and because saliva pools in the mouth, may lead to aspiration pneumonia. Sialorrhea in PD is thought to be caused by impaired or infrequent swallowing, rather than hypersecretion.

Neuropathological study 16 years after autologous adrenal medullary transplantation in a Parkinson's disease patient.

To date, there is no clinicopathological correlation of adrenal medullary transplant cases in patients with survival beyond a few years. Postmortem examination of a brain from a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD), 16 years after autologous adrenal medullary transplant, was performed using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and chromogranin A. The patient experienced a four-year initial improvement in motor function followed by resumption of the progressive nature of her disease that continued until her death.

Nurr1 in Parkinson's disease and related disorders.

In mammals, the transcription factor Nurr1 is expressed early in development and continues to be detectable throughout the organism's lifetime. Nurr1 is involved in the establishment and maintenance of the dopaminergic phenotype within specific central nervous system neuronal subpopulations including the nigrostriatal dopamine system. This protein is reduced over the course of normal aging, which is a major risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD).