Sensory disturbances in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Background: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by rapidly progressive dementia, motor impairments, and psychiatric symptoms. Sensory disturbances were occasionally reported as well. The study aims to describe the sensory symptoms of the disease.

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of patients with late-onset Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Background: Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) is a fatal neuro-degenerative disease, characterized by rapid and intense deterioration, mainly cognitive, leading to death. The typical onset of the disease is around the age of 67.

Purpose: To characterize the demographic and clinical features of the population of CJD patients with late-onset disease.

Identification of an early-stage Parkinson's disease neuromarker using event-related potentials, brain network analytics and machine-learning.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to explore the possibility of developing a biomarker that can discriminate early-stage Parkinson's disease from healthy brain function using electroencephalography (EEG) event-related potentials (ERPs) in combination with Brain Network Analytics (BNA) technology and machine learning (ML) algorithms.

Background: Currently, diagnosis of PD depends mainly on motor signs and symptoms. However, there is need for biomarkers that detect PD at an earlier stage to allow intervention and monitoring of potential disease-modifying therapies.

Spatial distribution of abnormal EEG activity in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Objectives: Electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is characterized by diffuse abnormal activity, although lateralization to one hemisphere has been described in the first stages of the disease. This study aimed to determine whether abnormal EEG activity predominantly occurs in anterior versus posterior brain regions.

Methods: As part of a prospective study, the demographics, clinical features and MRI findings of genetic E200K CJD patients were collected.

Familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease homozygous to the E200K mutation: clinical characteristics and disease course.

Objective: To characterize the demographic, clinical features and disease course of familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD) patients homozygous to the E200K mutation.

Methods: The Israeli National CJD Database was screened for patients homozygous to the E200K mutation. Patients' demographic data, clinical presentation and neurological findings, tau protein levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and EEG, were assessed.

The association of quantitative EEG and MRI in Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.

Introduction: Previous studies showed concordance between the typical Periodic Sharp Wave Complex (PSWC) activity in EEG of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) patients and the MRI findings, while the concordance with slow activity in EEG is less established. The aim of this study was to better characterize the association between MRI findings and EEG changes using quantitative EEG (qEEG) analysis.

Methods: The demographics, clinical features, and the MRI findings of 12 familial E200K patients with CJD were gathered.

Disease duration in E200K familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is correlated with clinical, radiological, and laboratory variables.

Previous studies have suggested that disease duration in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) may be related to the radiological findings or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau levels; however, it is not yet established whether clinical, radiological, and laboratory findings at diagnosis can predict survival or have a prognostic value. The aim of this study was to examine whether the disease duration is correlated with clinical, radiological, and laboratory variables. The study population consisted of consecutive familial CJD (fCJD) patients that were assessed within 1 week from the diagnosis including the CJD neurological scale (CJD-NS), Minimental Status Examination, Frontal Assessment Battery, NIH Stroke Scale, and the expanded disability status scale.

Repetitive Deep TMS for Parkinson Disease: A 3-Month Double-Blind, Randomized Sham-Controlled Study.

Purpose: To study the effects of a repetitive deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (rDTMS) in patients with Parkinson disease using the H5 coil for the low-frequency stimulation of the primary motor cortex, followed by the high-frequency rDTMS of the prefrontal cortex.

Methods: The main outcome measures were the total and motor scores of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). Secondary measures included rating of depression and quantitative motor tasks.

Extrapyramidal signs in neurosarcoidosis versus multiple sclerosis: Is TNF alpha the link?

Specific inflammatory pathways and specifically Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-α) have been associated with the neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). TNFα is also known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and TNF blockers can ameliorate the disease. In contrast, multiple sclerosis (MS) is clearly exacerbated by anti- TNF-α medications.

The impact of early versus late levodopa administration.

Long-term levodopa therapy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with motor complications including motor fluctuations (MF) and levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LID). The time to appearance of MF and LID is apparently related to both the timing and the duration of levodopa therapy, but is highly variable. We performed a retrospective analysis of all levodopa-treated PD patients to explore the effect of time from PD onset to levodopa initiation on time to MF or LID.

CSF tau correlates with the degree of cortical involvement in E200K familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau was found to correlate with disease severity and cognitive status in E200K familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD) patients. The objective of the present study was to test whether tau levels in the CSF also correlate with the disease burden as reflected by the degree of cortical involvement in DWI MRI. Forty-four consecutive E200K fCJD patients (25 males, mean age 58.

Clinical radiological correlation in E200K familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The use of diffusion MRI improved the accuracy of diagnosis in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) and expanded our knowledge of the changes occurring in the brain during the disease. The aim of this study was to test whether in patients with E200K familial CJD (fCJD) the clinical severity correlates with the disease burden as reflected by the extent of cortical involvement in DWI MRI. Consecutive fCJD patients were examined by a neurologist who performed several tests including the CJD neurological scale (CJD-NS), MiniMental status examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and the expanded disability status scale (EDSS).

Early pathology in sleep studies of patients with familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

In this study, we aimed to assess sleep function in patients with recent-onset familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD). The largest cluster of fCJD patients is found in Jews of Libyan origin, linked to the prion protein gene (PRNP) E200K mutation. The high index of suspicion in these patients often leads to early diagnosis, with complaints of insomnia being a very common presenting symptom of the disease.

Repetitive deep transcranial magnetic stimulation for motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease: A feasibility study.

Objectives: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), using standard coils, provided modest symptomatic benefits in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). In our previous exploratory studies, using the newly developed Hesed coil (providing deeper rTMS; rDTMS) high frequency (HF), excitatory rDTMS over the primary motor cortex (M1), did not achieve sufficient beneficial effect for PD symptoms, while low frequency (LF) inhibitory stimulation, was mildly beneficial. To further investigate the optimal rDTMS stimulation parameters for PD patients, and to assess whether there is an added value for dual stimulation, consisting of HF rDTMS over the prefrontal cortex (PFC) along with LF M1 rDTMS.

Familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with the E200K mutation: longitudinal neuroimaging from asymptomatic to symptomatic CJD.

Familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD) in Jews of Libyan ancestry is caused by an E200K mutation in the PRNP gene. While carriers are born with this mutation, they usually remain asymptomatic until middle age. Early detection of conversion is crucial for understanding and eventually for the treatment of the disease.

Characterization of sleep disorders in patients with E200K familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

The largest cluster of E200K familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD) which occurs is in Jews of Libyan origin in Israel. Insomnia is a very common early complaint in those patients and may even be the presenting symptom. The aim of this study was to assess and characterize sleep pathology in E200K fCJD patients.

The melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r) variants do not account for the co-occurrence of Parkinson's disease and malignant melanoma.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by loss of melanin-positive dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Malignant melanoma (MM), a melanocyte-derived neoplasm, occurs with higher than expected frequency among PD patients. Red-haired individuals exhibit a threefold risk for developing MM than dark-haired people; PD risk also increases with lighter hair color.

Motor progression of Parkinson's disease with the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 G2019S mutation.

Introduction: In this retrospective study, we compared motor disease progression in Ashkenazi-Jewish (AJ) Parkinson's disease (PD) patients carrying the LRRK2*G2019S mutation with that of noncarriers.

Methods: Consecutive PD patients were recruited between 2004 and 2011. Disease progression of carriers versus noncarriers was compared using survival analysis, where the end-point was the time from PD onset to reaching Hoehn and Yahr stage 3 (HY3).

Sequence variants in SLC6A3, DRD2, and BDNF genes and time to levodopa-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease.

Levodopa-induced dyskinesias (LID) present a common but elusive complication of levodopa therapy in Parkinson's disease (PD). In order to identify genetic factors associated with LID, 352 (213 males) levodopa-treated Israeli PD patients were genotyped for 34 polymorphisms within three candidate genes affecting dopaminergic activity and synaptic plasticity: dopamine transporter gene (DAT1 or SLC6A3) [14 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and 40-bp variable number tandem repeat (VNTR)], DRD2 [11 SNPs and dinucleotide CA short tandem repeat (STR)], and BDNF (7 SNPs). A comparison of patients with and without LID was performed by applying a time-oriented approach, with survival analyses evaluating LID development hazard rate over time [Cox proportional hazards and accelerated failure time (AFT) lognormal models].

Asymmetric dopamine loss differentially affects effort to maximize gain or minimize loss.

Background: Dopamine (DA) plays an important role in regulating effort expenditure for reward, but whether it is also involved in modulating effort to avoid punishment is not clear. Preference for approach towards rewarding stimuli or away from aversive stimuli is associated with asymmetric activation in anterior brain regions. Asymmetric DA signaling in subcortical-frontal circuits may therefore contribute to differentially energizing behavior towards approach or avoidance behavior.