The role of heredity in Parkinson's disease (PD) is controversial. We report a pair of monozygotic twins (confirmed by DNA fingerprints) concordant for PD. Their disease began when they were 62 and 63 years old. Both patients presented with left-side bradykinesia. One of the twins had a long history of depression. Both patients had typical manifestations of PD, which were responsive to dopaminergic therapy. The similar age of onset along with the similar clinical characteristics of these twins suggests that hereditary or genetic susceptibility may be important in the etiology of PD.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1212/wnl.43.6.1159 | DOI Listing |
J Neuroeng Rehabil
January 2025
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, PO Box 116250, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
Background: Motor module (a.k.a.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMol Neurodegener
January 2025
Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA.
Gastrointestinal (GI) involvement in Lewy body diseases (LBDs) has been observed since the initial descriptions of patients by James Parkinson. Recent experimental and human observational studies raise the possibility that pathogenic alpha-synuclein (⍺-syn) might develop in the GI tract and subsequently spread to susceptible brain regions. The cellular and mechanistic origins of ⍺-syn propagation in disease are under intense investigation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Med
January 2025
Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford Movement Disorders Center, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Cerebral accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates is the hallmark event in a group of neurodegenerative diseases-collectively called synucleinopathies-which include Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy. Currently, these are diagnosed by their clinical symptoms and definitively confirmed postmortem by the presence of αSyn deposits in the brain. Here, we summarize the drawbacks of the current clinical definition of synucleinopathies and outline the rationale for moving toward an earlier, biology-anchored definition of these disorders, with or without the presence of clinical symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNPJ Parkinsons Dis
January 2025
Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital La Fe, Valencia, Spain.
Trends Neurosci
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Krembil Brain Institute, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Center for Advancing Neurotechnological Innovation to Application (CRANIA), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a significant source of morbidity, especially with an aging population. Gait problems, particularly freezing of gait (FOG), remain a persistent issue, causing falls and reduced quality of life without consistent responses to therapies. PD and related symptoms have classically been attributed to dopamine deficiency secondary to substantia nigra degeneration from Lewy body (LB) and Lewy neurite (LN) infiltration.
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