Clinical Characteristics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among Patients at a Movement Disorders Center.

It is not established whether SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) patients with movement disorders, are at greater risk for more serious outcomes than the larger COVID-19 population beyond the susceptibility associated with greater age. We reviewed electronic health records and conducted telephone interviews to collect the demographics and clinical outcomes of patients seen at our Movement Disorders Center who tested positive for COVID-19 from 8 March 2020 through 6 June 2020. Thirty-six patients were identified, 23 men and 13 women, median age of 74.

Testosterone not associated with violent dreams or REM sleep behavior disorder in men with Parkinson's.

We examined the relationship between testosterone levels, violent dreams, and REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in 31 men with Parkinson's disease (PD): 12 with clinical RBD and 19 without. All PD patients with clinical RBD experienced violent dreams, but none of the 19 non-RBD patients reported violent dreams. While dream content appears to be more aggressive in PD patients with clinical RBD, the presence of violent dreams or clinical RBD is not associated with testosterone levels in men with PD.

Excessive daytime sleepiness and on-road driving performance in patients with Parkinson's disease.

The impact of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) on road test performance was examined in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-one patients with PD completed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and an on-road driving test. Five participants had EDS according to their self-report on the ESS.

Pathophysiology of myasthenia gravis.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is arguably the best understood autoimmune disease, and its study has also led to fundamental appreciation of mechanisms of neuromuscular transmission. MG is caused by antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), which produce a compromise in the end-plate potential, reducing the safety factor for effective synaptic transmission. It is clear that AChR antibody destruction of the postsynaptic surface is dependent on complement activation.

Leucoencephalopathy with neuroaxonal spheroids (LENAS) presenting as the cerebellar subtype of multiple system atrophy.

Leucoencephalopathy with neuroaxonal spheroids (LENAS) is a rare disease of cerebral and cerebellar white matter. LENAS usually presents as a disorder of cognition and behaviour, or with gait dysfunction and ataxia. This report describes a patient who had a 14 year course of progressive neurological decline consistent with a clinical diagnosis of probable multiple system atrophy, with prominent cerebellar dysfunction and dysautonomia.