Dietary Caffeine and Brain Dopaminergic Function in Parkinson Disease.

Objective: This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of dietary caffeine intake on striatal dopamine function and clinical symptoms in Parkinson disease in a cross-sectional and longitudinal setting.

Methods: One hundred sixty-three early Parkinson disease patients and 40 healthy controls were investigated with [I]FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography, and striatal dopamine transporter binding was evaluated in association with the level of daily coffee consumption and clinical measures. After a median interval of 6.

Opicapone versus entacapone: Head-to-head retrospective data-based comparison of healthcare resource utilization in people with Parkinson's disease new to catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor treatment.

Background And Purpose: Motor fluctuations are a significant driver of healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in people with Parkinson's disease (pwPD). A common management strategy is to include catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibition with either opicapone or entacapone in the levodopa regimen. However, to date, there has been a lack of head-to-head data comparing the two COMT inhibitors in real-world settings.

Plasma Neurofilament Light and p-tau181 and Risk of Psychosis in Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are common and important to people with Parkinson's disease (PD), but their etiology is poorly understood. Plasma neurofilament light (NfL) and p-tau181 are biomarkers of neuro-axonal degeneration and tau pathology respectively, which have yet to be explored in association with the affective and psychotic symptoms in PD.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between plasma NfL and p-tau181 with the affective and psychotic symptoms in PD.

Early factors for predicting discontinuation to subcutaneous Apomorphine infusion in Parkinson's disease: A prospective analysis of the Thai Apomorphine Registry.

Introduction: Although continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion (CSAI) is an effective therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) with motor fluctuations, data from Asian cohorts is limited. The therapy is often discontinued due to the complexity of its delivery.

Methods: Fifty-one PD patients undergoing CSAI as an add-on therapy were enrolled in the Thai Apomorphine Registry, an electronic database that recorded clinical characteristics and parameters during the 14-consecutive-day titration and long-term follow-up.

Access and Attitudes Toward Palliative Care Among Movement Disorders Clinicians.

Background: Neuropalliative care is an emerging field for those with neurodegenerative illnesses, but access to neuropalliative care remains limited.

Objective: We sought to determine Movement Disorder Society (MDS) members' attitudes and access to palliative care.

Methods: A quantitative and qualitative survey instrument was developed by the MDS Palliative Care Task Force and e-mailed to all members for completion.

Effect of Short-term Integrated Palliative Care on Patient-Reported Outcomes Among Patients Severely Affected With Long-term Neurological Conditions: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Palliative care has shown benefits in reducing symptom intensity and quality of life in patients with advanced cancer. However, high-quality evidence to support palliative care policy and service developments for patients with long-term neurological conditions (LTNCs) is lacking.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness of a short-term integrated palliative care (SIPC) intervention for people with LTNCs.

Alemtuzumab vs anti-thymocyte globulin in patients transplanted from an unrelated donor after a reduced intensity conditioning.

Objective: Relapse and graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) are still the main complications after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, especially in the setting of reduced intensity regimen (RIC) and unrelated donor. We compared here anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) or alemtuzumab as GVHD prophylaxis in patients with myeloid disease transplanted after RIC and from an unrelated donor.

Method: ATG and alemtuzumab patients have been matched by age, gender, HLA matching, comorbidities and cytogenetics risk (119 patients in each group).

Psychometric Properties of a Generic, Patient-Centred Palliative Care Outcome Measure of Symptom Burden for People with Progressive Long Term Neurological Conditions.

Background: There is no standard palliative care outcome measure for people with progressive long term neurological conditions (LTNC). This study aims to determine the psychometric properties of a new 8-item palliative care outcome scale of symptom burden (IPOS Neuro-S8) in this population.

Data And Methods: Data were merged from a Phase II palliative care intervention study in multiple sclerosis (MS) and a longitudinal observational study in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP).

Intraindividual Variability of Nonmotor Fluctuations in Advanced Parkinson's Disease.

Nonmotor symptoms (NMS) fluctuate in conjunction with motor oscillations in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD), though little is known about the variability of NMS fluctuations in individual patients. We aimed to assess within-patient variability in frequency and severity of NMS during a series of five patient-perceived motor On and Off periods in 38 fluctuating PD patients from the multicenter NonMotorFluctuations in PD study using a visual analogue scale. NMS frequency and severity appeared moderately variable in both motor states within individual patients.

Quantitative assessment of non-motor fluctuations in Parkinson's disease using the Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS).

Data on frequency, severity and correlations of NMS with motor complications are only available for a limited number of NMS. The NMS Scale (NMSS) is a validated tool to assess a broad range of NMS, which has not been used in NMS fluctuations. We assessed fluctuations of a broad range of non-motor symptom (NMS) for a 1-month time period in fluctuating Parkinson's disease (PD) in a multicenter cross-sectional study using the NMSS assessing NMS in motor On (NMSSOn) and Off state (NMSSOff) combined with clinical NMS and motor function scoring in 100 fluctuating PD patients.

Permissivity of primary hepatocytes and hepatoma cell lines to support hepatitis C virus infection.

The major cell type supporting hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is the hepatocyte; however, most reports studying viral entry and replication utilize transformed hepatoma cell lines. We demonstrate that HCV pseudoparticles (HCVpp) infect primary hepatocytes with comparable rates to hepatoma cells, demonstrating the limited variability in donor hepatocytes to support HCV receptor-glycoprotein-dependent entry. In contrast, we observed a 2-log range in viral replication between the same donor hepatocytes.

A proposal for a comprehensive grading of Parkinson's disease severity combining motor and non-motor assessments: meeting an unmet need.

Background: Non-motor symptoms are present in Parkinson's disease (PD) and a key determinant of quality of life. The Non-motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) is a validated scale that allows quantifying frequency and severity (burden) of NMS. We report a proposal for using NMSS scores to determine levels of NMS burden (NMSB) and to complete PD patient classification.

Role of disease severity, illness perceptions, and mood on quality of life in muscle disease.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe the effect of muscle disease upon QoL and to explore the influence of disease severity, mood, and illness perception on the QoL of these patients.

Methods: Validated questionnaires assessing QoL (Individualized Neuromuscular QoL and SF-36), disease severity (Health Assessment Questionnaire), mood (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) and illness perception (Illness Perception Questionnaire) were sent to adults with muscle disease.

Results: We received 302 responses (return rate 75%).

Allogeneic transplantation for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains the only curative option for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Developing conditioning regimens with low toxicity, at the same time as preserving an effective graft versus tumour response, is pivotal to expanding the scope for allogeneic transplantation in older patients with MDS. With the introduction of reduced intensity conditioned regimens, transplant centres worldwide are able to offer allogeneic HSCT to a much larger cohort of patients.