Trauma and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a european population-based case-control study from the EURALS consortium.

Objectives: To assess the association between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and previous traumatic events, age of trauma, and site of injury.

Methods: A population-based case-control study was performed in five European countries (Italy, Ireland, France, United Kingdom, Serbia). Newly diagnosed ALS patients and matched controls were interviewed to collect relevant demographic factors and exposures.

Intensive rehabilitation treatment in early Parkinson's disease: a randomized pilot study with a 2-year follow-up.

Background: Although physical exercise improves motor aspects of Parkinson's disease (PD), it is not clear whether it may also have a neuroprotective effect. Objective. In this 2-year follow-up study, we determined whether intensive exercise in the early stages of the disease slows down PD progression.

Physical activity and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a European population-based case-control study.

Objective: To assess whether physical activity is a risk factor for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Methods: From February 2008 to April 2012, 652 patients with ALS from European population-based registries (France, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, Serbia) and 1,166 population controls (matched for age, sex, and residency) were assessed. Upon direct interview, data were collected on occupation and history of sport and leisure activities, physical activity, and accidental injuries.

Intensive rehabilitation increases BDNF serum levels in parkinsonian patients: a randomized study.

Background: Exercise may decrease the risk of Parkinson's disease (PD) in humans and reduce PD symptoms in animal models. The beneficial effects have been linked to increased levels of neurotrophic factors.

Objective: We examined whether intensive rehabilitation treatment reduces motor disability in patients in the early stages of PD and increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) serum levels.

Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of acetyl-L-carnitine for ALS.

Our objective was to assess the effects of acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) with riluzole on disability and mortality of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Definite/probable ALS patients, 40-70 years of age, duration 6-24 months, self-sufficient (i.e.

The progression of non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease and their contribution to motor disability and quality of life.

Non-motor symptoms are gaining relevance in Parkinson's disease (PD) management but little is known about their progression and contribution to deterioration of quality of life. We followed prospectively 707 PD patients (62 % males) for 2 years. We assessed non-motor symptoms referred to 12 different domains, each including 1-10 specific symptoms, as well as motor state (UPDRS), general cognition, and life quality.

A panel of macroautophagy markers in lymphomonocytes of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A potential role for macroautophagy dysfunction in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was hypothesized after the demonstration that selected markers are up-regulated in post mortem samples obtained from both patients and animal models of disease. We hypothesized that a putative dysfunction of this catabolic pathway could be operative also in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from ALS patients, since these cells represent an accessible model for studying molecular pathogenesis events in neuropsychiatric disorders. Beclin-1 and LC3II immunoreactivity were assessed in PBMC from 15 ALS patients and 15 controls by Western blot analysis.

Effectiveness of intensive inpatient rehabilitation treatment on disease progression in parkinsonian patients: a randomized controlled trial with 1-year follow-up.

Background: Rehabilitation treatments have acute beneficial effects in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, but whether the effects persist over time is unclear.

Objective: To assess whether an intensive rehabilitation treatment (IRT) is effective in improving motor performance compared with a control group in a 12-month follow-up, to investigate whether a second cycle administered after 1 year has the same efficacy as the first treatment, and to determine whether IRT reduces the need for increasing levodopa dosage.

Methods: A total of 50 PD patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups; 25 participants had 4 weeks of inpatient physical therapy that included treadmill and stabilometric platform training.

MRI predictors of long-term evolution in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

We investigated whether conventional and diffusion tensor (DT) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of the corticospinal tract (CST) contribute to the prediction of the long-term clinical evolution in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Brain conventional and DT MRI were obtained from 18 healthy subjects and 24 patients with sporadic ALS. Mean diffusivity (MD) and fractional anisotropy (FA) of the CST were obtained.

Longitudinal assessment of grey matter contraction in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A tensor based morphometry study.

Our objective was to investigate grey matter (GM) contraction in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using tensor based morphometry (TBM). Using a 1.5 Tesla scanner, T1-weighted MRI scans were obtained at baseline and at follow-up (mean interval, 9 months) from 16 ALS and 10 controls.

Long-lasting effects of high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in major depressed patients.

The majority of previous clinical studies have indicated that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) may have antidepressant effects. Herein, we investigated the longitudinal, long-term antidepressant efficacy of daily left prefrontal cortex (PFC) rTMS for a 1-week period. Nineteen patients were randomly assigned to two treatment groups at 90% of individual motor threshold (MT): Twelve received active repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and seven received sham treatment.

Just lying there, remembering: improving recall of prose in amnesic patients with mild cognitive impairment by minimising interference.

The hallmark of amnesia is poor explicit long-term memory along with normal short-term memory. It is often stated that information encountered by amnesic patients is forgotten within 1 minute of presentation. However, previous work has not distinguished between forgetting as a function of time versus the interfering material occupying that time.