ATN cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in dementia with Lewy bodies: Initial results from the United States Dementia with Lewy Bodies Consortium.

INTRODUCTION: The National Institute on Aging - Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) ATN research framework proposes to use biomarkers for amyloid (A), tau (T), and neurodegeneration (N) to stage individuals with AD pathological features and track changes longitudinally. The overall aim was to utilize this framework to characterize pre-mortem ATN status longitudinally in a clinically diagnosed cohort of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and to correlate it with the post mortem diagnosis. METHODS: The cohort was subtyped by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) ATN category. A subcohort had longitudinal data, and a subgroup was neuropathologically evaluated. RESULTS: We observed a significant difference in Aß42/40 after 12 months in the A+T- group. Post mortem neuropathologic analyses indicated that most of the p-Tau 181 positive (T+) cases also had a high Braak stage. DISCUSSION: This suggests that DLB patients who are A+ but T- may need to be monitored to determine whether they remain A+ or ever progress to T positivity. HIGHLIGHTS: Some A+T- DLB subjects transition from A+ to negative after 12-months. Clinically diagnosed DLB with LBP-AD (A+T+) maintain their positivity. Clinically diagnosed DLB with LBP-AD (A+T+) maintain their positivity. Monitoring of the A+T- sub-type of DLB may be necessary.

Efficacy and safety of two incobotulinumtoxinA injection intervals in cervical dystonia patients with inadequate benefit from standard injection intervals of botulinum toxin: Phase 4, open-label, randomized, noninferiority study.

IntroductionSome patients with cervical dystonia (CD) receiving long-term botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) therapy report early waning of treatment benefit before the typical 12-week reinjection interval. Methods: This phase 4, open-label, randomized, noninferiority study (CD Flex; NCT01486264) compared 2 incobotulinumtoxinA injection schedules (Short Flex: 8 ± 2 weeks; Long Flex: 14 ± 2 weeks) in CD patients. Previous BoNT-responsive subjects who reported acceptable clinical benefit lasting < 10 weeks were recruited. Efficacy and safety were evaluated after 8 injection cycles. The primary endpoint was change in Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS) severity subscale 4 weeks after the eighth injection. Secondary endpoints included TWSTRS total and subscale scores. Immunogenicity was assessed in a subset of patients. Results: Two hundred eighty-two CD patients were randomized and treated (Short Flex, N = 142; Long Flex, N = 140), and 207 completed the study. Significant improvements in TWSTRS severity from study baseline to 4 weeks after cycle 8 were observed in both the Short Flex (4.1 points; P < 0.0001) and Long Flex (2.4 points; P = 0.002) groups; Short Flex was noninferior to Long Flex (LS mean difference = 1.4 points; 95% CI = [-2.9, 0.1] < Δ = 2.0). Key secondary endpoints favored Short Flex intervals. Adverse events (AEs) were comparable between groups. There was no secondary loss of treatment effect. Conclusion: Injection cycles < 10 weeks for incobotulinumtoxinA are effective (and noninferior to longer intervals) for treating CD patients with early waning of clinical benefit. Shorter injection intervals did not increase AEs or lead to loss of treatment effect.

Current Practices for Outpatient Initiation of Levodopa-Carbidopa Intestinal Gel for Management of Advanced Parkinson's Disease in the United States.

In 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration approved levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG; also known as carbidopa-levodopa enteral suspension in the US) for the treatment of motor fluctuations in patients with advanced Parkinson's disease. LCIG provides a continuous infusion of levodopa and carbidopa by means of a portable pump and percutaneous endoscopic gastrojejunostomy tube. The delivery system has a two-fold pharmacokinetic advantage over orally administered carbidopa/levodopa. First, levodopa is delivered in a continuous rather than intermittent, pulsatile fashion. Second, delivery to levodopa's site of absorption in the jejunum bypasses the stomach, thereby avoiding issues with erratic gastric emptying. In blinded prospective clinical trials and observational studies, LCIG has been shown to significantly decrease "off" time, increase "on" time without troublesome dyskinesia, and reduce dyskinesia. Consistent with procedures in previous studies, LCIG initiation and titration in the pivotal US clinical trial were performed in the inpatient setting and followed a standardized protocol. In clinical practice, however, initiation and titration of LCIG have a great degree of flexibility and, in the US, almost always take place in the outpatient setting. Nonetheless, there remains a significant amount of clinician uncertainty regarding titration in outpatient clinical practice. This review aims to shed light on and provide guidance as to the current methods of titration in the outpatient setting, as informed by the medical literature and the authors' experiences. FUNDING: AbbVie, Inc. Plain language summary available for this article.

Results from recent studies have shown that continuous infusion of levodopa-carbidopa intestinal gel (LCIG) into the jejunum (a part of the small intestine) effectively manages the motor and nonmotor complications (e.g., tremor, extreme stiffness in arms and legs, difficulty walking, and impaired balance) experienced by patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). LCIG is administered by a portable pump directly into the patient's jejunum by a permanent tube that is inserted surgically. LCIG therapy is beneficial to advanced PD patients over orally administered carbidopa/levodopa for two reasons. First, oral carbidopa/levodopa moves from the stomach to the small intestine where it is intermittently absorbed into the blood stream. LCIG is administered continuously and offers better symptom control for longer. Results from clinical trials and observational studies have shown that LCIG significantly decreases "off" time (poor motor control) and increases "on" time (good motor control) in advanced PD patients without troublesome dyskinesia, which results from the higher doses of oral levodopa required to treat the symptoms. Second, LCIG is absorbed in the jejunum, thereby bypassing the stomach where problems can occur because of inconsistent stomach emptying. In the US, titration of LCIG is performed mostly in an outpatient setting. Some clinicians may view titration of LCIG to be too complex and variable, so they avoid using LCIG therapy for their PD patients. Fortunately, emerging data and clinicians' expanding experience with LCIG have shown that titration can be easily managed in an outpatient setting, allowing for more customized therapeutic regimens for patients.

Targeting neurons in the gastrointestinal tract to treat Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with α-synuclein (αS) aggregation within the enteric nervous system (ENS) and constipation. Squalamine displaces proteins that are electrostatically bound to intracellular membranes and through this mechanism suppresses aggregation of αS monomers into neurotoxic oligomers. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the safety of ENT-01 oral tablets (a synthetic squalamine salt), its pharmacokinetics, and its effect on bowel function in PD patients with constipation. METHODS: In Stage 1, 10 patients received escalating single doses from 25 to 200 mg/day or maximum tolerated dose (MTD). In Stage 2, 34 patients received daily doses escalating from 75 to a maximum of 250 mg/day, a dose that induced change in bowel function or MTD, followed by a fixed dose for 7 days, and a 2-week washout. Primary efficacy endpoint was defined as an increase of 1 complete spontaneous bowel movement (CSBM)/week, or 3 CSBM/week over the baseline period, as defined by FDA guidelines for prokinetic agents. Safety was also assessed. RESULTS: Over 80% of patients achieved the primary efficacy endpoint, with the mean number of CSBM/week increasing from 1.2 at baseline to 3.6 during fixed dosing (p = 1.2 × 10-7). Common adverse events included nausea in 21/44 (47%) and diarrhea in 18/44 (40%) patients. Systemic absorption was <0.3%. CONCLUSIONS: Orally administered ENT-01 was safe and significantly improved bowel function in PD, suggesting that the ENS is not irreversibly damaged in PD. Minimal systemic absorption suggests that improvements result from local stimulation of the ENS. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study is now ongoing.

Inpatient management of Parkinson disease: current challenges and future directions.

UNLABELLED: Parkinson disease (PD) is usually managed through outpatient clinical care. Reasons for hospital admissions are either directly related to PD or may reflect comorbidities. When hospitalized, patients with PD may face many challenges. Most commonly these are related to medication management, falls, mental status changes, infections, and emergence of psychiatric symptoms. Timely recognition and proper management of PD-specific hospitalization-related problems may be delayed, given the common lack of expertise in PD management of hospital physicians, nurses, and allied health professionals. With increasing prevalence of PD, it is expected that more patients will require inpatient hospital care. It is therefore very important to recognize problems that may arise upon hospitalization of a patient with PD and provide education to health care professionals involved in the inpatient care of patients with PD. This approach may lead to reductions in complication rates and duration of hospital stays. AIM: In this review, we outline the most common reasons for hospitalization of patients with PD, discuss challenges related to inpatient hospital care of patients with PD, and comment on future directions aimed at optimizing hospitalization outcomes in the population with PD.