Relevance of I-FP-CIT SPECT prescriptions for the diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes.

I-FP-CIT SPECT enables the detection of presynaptic dopaminergic denervation. It allows to differentiate degenerative parkinsonian syndromes from secondary parkinsonian syndromes or essential tremor, and patients with suspected dementia with Lewy bodies from those with other dementia subtypes. The aim of our study was to evaluate the appropriateness of I-FP-CIT SPECT prescriptions, identify prescriber profiles and analyze changes in prescriptions over a decade in the Neurology department of Avicenne University hospital.

Initiation of mechanical thrombectomy in an insular setting with helicopter transfer: a 2-year experience from the first, complete, tertiary stroke center in the Caribbean.

Background: This is the first cohort study of patients treated with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for acute ischemic stroke in the French West Indies, with a mothership center and helicopter transfer.

Objective: To describe the population and to evaluate imaging, clinical, and time metric outcomes, in order to assess the feasibility and adjust the territorial organization.

Methods: In this observational study, we retrospectively analyzed our prospectively collected data of a population of consecutive patients treated with MT for anterior and posterior circulation large vessel occlusions.

Mitoxantrone in NMO Spectrum Disorder in a Large Multicenter Cohort in French Caribbean.

Background And Objectives: Preventing relapses in neuromyelitis Optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) is a primary goal. New effective molecules are often expensive and not readily available in regions with fragile health systems. Assessing the efficacy and safety of less costly therapeutic alternatives is necessary.

Endemic parkinsonism: clusters, biology and clinical features.

The term 'endemic parkinsonism' refers to diseases that manifest with a dominant parkinsonian syndrome, which can be typical or atypical, and are present only in a particular geographically defined location or population. Ten phenotypes of endemic parkinsonism are currently known: three in the Western Pacific region; two in the Asian-Oceanic region; one in the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique; and four in Europe. Some of these disease entities seem to be disappearing over time and therefore are probably triggered by unique environmental factors.

Brain dysfunction in gait disorders of Caribbean atypical Parkinsonism and progressive supranuclear palsy patients: A comparative study.

Introduction: Gait disorders and falls occur early in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP-RS) and Caribbean atypical parkinsonism (Caribbean AP). However, the link between these signs and brain lesions has never been explored in these patient populations. Here, we investigate and compare the imaging factors that relate to gait and balance disorders in Caribbean AP and PSP-RS patients.

The Pesticide Chlordecone Promotes Parkinsonism-like Neurodegeneration with Tau Lesions in Midbrain Cultures and Worms.

Chlordecone (CLD) is an organochlorine pesticide (OCP) that is currently banned but still contaminates ecosystems in the French Caribbean. Because OCPs are known to increase the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD), we tested whether chronic low-level intoxication with CLD could reproduce certain key characteristics of Parkinsonism-like neurodegeneration. For that, we used culture systems of mouse midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons and glial cells, together with the nematode as an in vivo model organism.

Cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in SARS-CoV-2 patients with acute neurological syndromes.

Background And Purpose: Mechanisms underlying acute brain injury in SARS-CoV-2 patients remain poorly understood. A better characterization of such mechanisms remains essential to preventing long-term neurological sequelae. Our present aim was to study a panel of biomarkers of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of NeuroCOVID patients.

Impact of Smoking on Functional Prognosis after Ischemic Stroke according to Deprivation: A Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Smoking influence on poststroke prognosis remains controversial. These conflicting results could be due to some residual confounding factors not fully considered in previous studies, including social deprivation. This study aimed to assess the joint impact of deprivation and smoking on functional outcomes after ischemic stroke.

Annonaceae Consumption Worsens Disease Severity and Cognitive Deficits in Degenerative Parkinsonism.

Background: High consumption of Annona muricata fruit has been previously identified as a risk factor for atypical parkinsonism in the French Caribbean islands.

Objective: We tested whether consumption of Annonaceae products could worsen the clinical phenotype of patients with any form of degenerative parkinsonism.

Methods: We analyzed neurological data from 180 Caribbean parkinsonian patients and specifically looked for dose effects of lifelong, cumulative Annonaceae consumption on cognitive performance.

The microbiome-nose-brain axis in health and disease.

Growing evidence implicates the bacterial populations in the nose as an important factor for personal and global health. Here, we provide a brief overview of the nasal microbiome and speculate on its potential roles in olfactory processing and neurodegeneration, with a particular focus on Parkinson's disease (PD).

Olfactory outcomes in Zika virus-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Background And Purpose: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). However, little is known about the consequence of ZIKV infection on olfaction in humans.

Methods: Immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak, we prospectively investigated the olfactory capacities of 19 patients with ZIKV-associated GBS from the French West Indies and compared them to nine controls from the same population, with GBS of similar severity but independent of ZIKV infection.

Long-term outcomes after NeuroCOVID: A 6-month follow-up study on 60 patients.

Background And Purpose: Long-term outcomes after neurological manifestations due to COVID-19 are poorly known. The aim of our study was to evaluate the functional outcome and identify the risk factors of neurologic sequelae after COVID-19 associated with neurological manifestations (NeuroCOVID).

Methods: We conducted a multi-center observational study six months after the acute neurological symptoms in patients from the French NeuroCOVID hospital-based registry.

Treatable Hyperkinetic Movement Disorders Not to Be Missed.

Hyperkinetic movement disorders are characterized by the presence of abnormal involuntary movements, comprising most notably dystonia, chorea, myoclonus, and tremor. Possible causes are numerous, including autoimmune disorders, infections of the central nervous system, metabolic disturbances, genetic diseases, drug-related causes and functional disorders, making the diagnostic process difficult for clinicians. Some diagnoses may be delayed without serious consequences, but diagnosis delays may prove detrimental in treatable disorders, ranging from functional disabilities, as in dopa-responsive dystonia, to death, as in Whipple's disease.

Doxycycline inhibits α-synuclein-associated pathologies in vitro and in vivo.

Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the misfolding and aggregation of alpha-synuclein (aSyn). Doxycycline, a tetracyclic antibiotic shows neuroprotective effects, initially proposed to be due to its anti-inflammatory properties. More recently, an additional mechanism by which doxycycline may exert its neuroprotective effects has been proposed as it has been shown that it inhibits amyloid aggregation.

Neurologic manifestations associated with COVID-19: a multicentre registry.

Objectives: To provide an overview of the spectrum, characteristics and outcomes of neurologic manifestations associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Methods: We conducted a single-centre retrospective study during the French coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in March-April 2020. All COVID-19 patients with de novo neurologic manifestations were eligible.

Neurocognitive impacts of arbovirus infections.

Arthropod-borne viruses or arbovirus, are most commonly associated with acute infections, resulting on various symptoms ranging from mild fever to more severe disorders such as hemorrhagic fever. Moreover, some arboviral infections can be associated with important neuroinflammation that can trigger neurological disorders including encephalitis, paralysis, ophthalmological impairments, or developmental defects, which in some cases, can lead to long-term defects of the central nervous system (CNS). This is well illustrated in Zika virus-associated congenital brain malformations but also in West Nile virus-induced synaptic dysfunctions that can last well beyond infection and lead to cognitive deficits.

Central nervous system infections in a tropical area: influence of emerging and rare infections.

Background And Purpose: The frequency of infectious encephalitis and the distribution of causative pathogens in tropical areas are poorly known and may be influenced by emerging and rare infections. The aim was to characterize a large series of acute infectious encephalitis and myelitis in immunocompetent patients from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe identifying clinical, biological and radiological features according to pathogens.

Methods: Using a hospital database, detailed information on a comprehensive series of immunocompetent patients with acute infectious myelitis and encephalitis over the 2012-2018 period was retrospectively collected.