Lower plasma apolipoprotein A1 levels are found in Parkinson's disease and associate with apolipoprotein A1 genotype.

The discovery of novel plasma-based biomarkers could lead to new approaches in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Here, we explore the role of plasma apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) as a risk marker for PD and evaluate the influence of APOA1 promoter variation on plasma ApoA1 levels. Plasma ApoA1 and the single-nucleotide polymorphism, rs670, were assayed in a discovery cohort (cohort 1) of 301 PD patients, 80 normal controls (NCs), and 165 subjects with other neurodegenerative diseases, as well as a cohort (cohort 2) of 158 PD patients from a second clinical site.

The organization and anatomy of narrative comprehension and expression in Lewy body spectrum disorders.

Objective: Patients with Lewy body spectrum disorders (LBSD) such as Parkinson's disease, Parkinson's disease with dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies exhibit deficits in both narrative comprehension and narrative expression. The present research examines the hypothesis that these impairments are due to a material-neutral deficit in organizational executive resources rather than to impairments of language per se. We predicted that comprehension and expression of narrative would be similarly affected and that deficits in both expression and comprehension of narrative would be related to the same anatomic distribution of prefrontal disease.

Plasma epidermal growth factor levels predict cognitive decline in Parkinson disease.

Objective: Most people with Parkinson disease (PD) eventually develop cognitive impairment (CI). However, neither the timing of onset nor the severity of cognitive symptoms can be accurately predicted. We sought plasma-based biomarkers for CI in PD.

Update on apraxia.

Apraxia is classically defined as difficulty performing learned, skilled gestures. In this review, we describe the range of motor impairments classified as apraxia, focusing on ideomotor limb apraxia. We present several prominent models of praxis to explain the variety of difficulties seen in patients with apraxia.

Cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease and dementia with lewy bodies: a spectrum of disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is classically thought of as a movement disorder characterized by tremor, rigidity and postural instability. Nevertheless, there is growing recognition of prominent cognitive impairment in PD and related disorders, which is responsible for substantial disability in these patients. This review will focus on cognitive impairment associated with Lewy body pathology, including PD with dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).