Culturally adapted psychosocial interventions (CaPSI) for early psychosis in a low-resource setting: study protocol for a large multi-center RCT.

BACKGROUND: Psychosis treatment guidelines recommend cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and family intervention (FI), for all patients with first episode psychosis (FEP), though guidance borrows heavily from literature in adults from high income countries. To our knowledge, there are few randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the comparative effect of these commonly endorsed psychosocial interventions in individuals with early psychosis from high-income countries and no such trials from low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The present study aims to confirm the clinical-efficacy and cost-effectiveness of delivering culturally adapted CBT (CaCBT) and culturally adapted FI (CulFI) to individuals with FEP in Pakistan. METHOD: A multi-centre, three-arm RCT of CaCBT, CulFI, and treatment as usual (TAU) for individuals with FEP (n = 390), recruited from major centres across Pakistan. Reducing overall symptoms of FEP will be the primary outcome. Additional aims will include improving patient and carer outcomes and estimating the economic impact of delivering culturally appropriate psychosocial interventions in low-resource settings. This trial will assess the clinical-efficacy and cost-effectiveness of CaCBT and CulFI compared with TAU in improving patient (positive and negative symptoms of psychosis, general psychopathology, depressive symptoms, quality of life, cognition, general functioning, and insight) and carer related outcomes (carer experience, wellbeing, illness attitudes and symptoms of depression and anxiety). CONCLUSIONS: A successful trial may inform the rapid scale up of these interventions not only in Pakistan but other low-resource settings, to improve clinical outcomes, social and occupational functioning, and quality of life in South Asian and other minority groups with FEP. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT05814913.

Identification of FUS p.R377W in essential tremor.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Exome sequencing analysis has recently identified a nonsense mutation in fused in sarcoma (FUS) segregating with essential tremor (ET) within a large French-Canadian family. Further characterization of FUS resulted in the identification of additional mutations in ET patients; however, their pathogenicity still remains to be confirmed. The role of FUS in an independent cohort of ET patients from Canada was evaluated. METHODS: The entire coding sequence of FUS in 217 patients diagnosed with ET was analyzed and two missense variants in 219 healthy controls were genotyped by Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: Sequencing of FUS identified a previously reported non-pathogenic mutation p.G174_G175del in one ET patient and two healthy controls, and a novel p.R377W in one patient with family history of disease. This mutation is highly conserved and strongly predicted to be damaging by in silico analysis. CONCLUSION: This study has identified a novel FUS p.R377W substitution in ET patients. Additional genotyping studies in a large number of ET patients and controls are necessary to conclusively define its pathogenicity.

Death-associated protein kinase 1 variation and Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Mutations of the LRRK2 gene are now recognized as major risk factors for Parkinson's disease. The Lrrk2 protein is a member of the ROCO family, which also includes Lrrk1 and Dapk1. Functional genetic variants of the DAPK1 gene (rs4877365 and rs4878104) have been previously associated with Alzheimer's disease. METHODS: Herein, we assessed the role of DAPK1 variants (rs4877365 and rs4878104) in risk of Parkinson's disease with Sequenom iPLEX genotyping, employing one Taiwanese series (391 patients with Parkinson's disease, 344 controls) and five separate Caucasian series' (combined sample size 1962 Parkinson's disease patients, 1900 controls). RESULTS: We observed no evidence of association for rs4877365 and rs4878104 and risk of Parkinson's disease in any of the individual series or in the combined Caucasian series under either an additive or recessive model. CONCLUSION: These specific DAPK1 intronic variants do not increase the risk of Parkinson's disease. However, further functional studies are required to elucidate the potential therapeutic implications with the dimerization of the Dapk1 and Lrrk2 proteins.

Vascular pathology in male Lewis rats following short-term, low-dose rotenone administration.

The long-term administration of low doses of rotenone has been used to produce a model of Parkinson disease (PD) in rats. However, only about 50% of similarly treated rats develop the PD-like syndrome, with many dying during the first few days of treatment. The lesions in male Lewis rats that became moribund or died after short-term, low-dose rotenone administration are described. Dosed rats had fibrinoid change and acute hemorrhage involving small arteries and arterioles of the brain and lungs. The thalamus, hypothalamus, and medulla oblongata were most frequently and severely affected. Blood vessels in the brain of some male Lewis rats appeared acutely susceptible to the effects of rotenone. Understanding the selective nature of the fibrinoid change and hemorrhage might explain how rotenone produces PD-like signs and lesions in rats, and it might also provide the basis for a model of intraparenchymal hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease (i.e., hemorrhagic strokes) in humans.

Elevated levels of DeltaFosB and RGS9 in striatum in Parkinson's disease.

INTRODUCTION: In the present study, we determined whether certain proteins known to mediate dopamine signaling in striatum show abnormal levels in Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Protein levels were assayed by western blotting in samples of caudate nucleus and putamen obtained at autopsy from patients with Parkinson's disease and from control subjects. Levels of several markers of dopaminergic function were also assayed. RESULTS: Levels of the transcription factor DeltaFosB and of the G protein modulatory protein RGS9 were both increased in caudate and putamen from patients with Parkinson's disease. Levels of several other proteins were not affected. Interestingly, levels of both DeltaFosB and RGS9 correlated inversely with putamen levels of dopamine, dopamine metabolites, and the dopamine transporter. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are consistent with observations in laboratory animals, which have demonstrated elevated levels of DeltaFosB in striatum after denervation of the midbrain dopamine system, and confirm that similar adaptations in DeltaFosB and RGS9 occur in humans with Parkinson's disease. Knowledge of these adaptations can help us understand the changes in striatal function associated with Parkinson's disease and assist in the development of novel treatments.

The evolution of diagnosis in early Parkinson disease. Parkinson Study Group.

CONTEXT: Since there is no diagnostic biological marker for Parkinson disease (PD), the diagnosis is based on the results of clinical assessment. The accuracy of diagnosis improves with time and repeated assessments. Studies that require only inclusion of early cases of PD present a diagnostic challenge. Previous studies concluded that initial diagnoses of PD made by general neurologists were incorrect in 24% to 35% of the cases when patients were examined at autopsy. Experts in movement disorders are expected to have greater accuracy of initial diagnosis of PD. OBJECTIVE: To determine the evolution of clinical diagnosis in patients with early PD made initially by experts in PD. DESIGN: Eight hundred patients with mild parkinsonian symptoms (Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 or 2) who received a diagnosis of PD less than 5 years before the beginning of the study were included in the original Deprenyl and Tocopherol Antioxidative Therapy for Parkinson's Disease study. These patients were followed up prospectively with repeated clinical assessments. The following clinical criteria were used to reassess the initial diagnosis: investigator's confidence in the diagnosis of PD, presence of atypical clinical features, findings of imaging studies, response to levodopa, and results of autopsy examinations. RESULTS: The mean +/- SD duration of illness in the 800 cases at enrollment was 2.2+/-1.3 years, and the mean +/- SD Hoehn and Yahr stage was 1.6+/-0.5. The mean +/- SD follow-up was 6.0+/-1.4 years (range, 0.2-7.6 years). In 5 cases, PD was not confirmed at autopsy, and in 15 patients, the results of imaging studies indicated the presence of other pathological conditions. Of the 550 cases treated with levodopa, 49 (8.9%) had little or no improvement; 6 of these cases overlap with either autopsy or imaging study exclusion criteria. Two other cases had at least 4 of the 6 atypical clinical features arguing against the diagnosis of PD. Thus, of the 800 patients, 65 (8.1%) did not have PD according to the study criteria. Compared with those patients with the final diagnosis of PD, in the diagnoses of 60 patients without autopsy, the duration of symptoms (mean +/- SD, 7.2+/-2.0 years vs. 8.3+/-1.9 years; P<.001) and the duration of follow-up (5.3+/-1.6 years vs. 6.1+/-1.3 years; P<.001) were shorter. CONCLUSIONS: We found that 65 (8.1%) of patients initially diagnosed as having PD were later found to have an alternate diagnosis based on multifactorial clinical diagnostic criteria. This alternate diagnosis indicated that experts in PD changed their diagnoses infrequently during the 7.6-year follow-up.

Reversible drug-induced parkinsonism. Clinicopathologic study of two cases.

Parkinsonism developed in two patients who were received neuroleptic drugs. In each case the clinical manifestations remitted completely when the offending drug or drugs were discontinued. Histologic examination in each patient disclosed abnormalities characteristic of idiopathic paralysis agitans (IPA). Levels of homovanillic acid were low in both cases, and dopamine (DA) levels were measurably reduced in the striatum in one case. It is postulated that before administration of neuroleptic drugs, both patients had preclinical IPA, which predisposed them to parkinsonism when challenged with DA antagonists. Our observations suggest that some patients with irreversible drug-induced parkinsonism may suffer from IPA and that the reversibility of clinical features does not exclude the presence of subclinical IPA.

Cerebellar norepinephrine in patients with Parkinson's disease and control subjects.

Norepinephrine was measured in postmortem cerebellar cortex of 22 non-neurological control subjects and nine patients with Parkinson's disease, using the high-performance liquid chromatography method with amperometric detection. In all control subjects, substantial amounts of norepinephrine was found in cerebellar cortex. There was a moderate negative correlation between age of control subjects and cerebellar norepinephrine concentration. In the patients with Parkinson's disease, the cerebellar cortical norepinephrine levels were significantly below normal. This is in accord with previously reported reduced norepinephrine levels in locus ceruleus and other regions of the parkinsonian brain. Although the main symptoms of Parkinson's disease are primarily caused by disturbed basal ganglia (dopamine) function, cerebellar dysfunction related to norepinephrine may contribute to some abnormalities of motor performance in this disorder.

Occurrence of resting tremor in Parkinson's disease.

Several previous studies have noted that resting tremor (RT) is absent in 10% to 30% of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) patients. We report our 22-year observations in 47 pathologically verified parkinsonian patients. In all the IPD cases with median follow-up of 3.7 years, RT was noted on at least one evaluation. Among other parkinsonian syndrome variants characterized by widespread subcortical pathology with median follow-up of 2.86 years, RT was seen in 31% of the cases. Our data indicate that the sites typically involved in IPD are sufficient to produce RT.

Chronic low-dose levodopa therapy in Parkinson's disease: an argument for delaying levodopa therapy.

Levodopa is the most useful drug for treatment of Parkinson's disease today. But after continued use for several years, the effectiveness declines, and the undesirable side effects become more frequent, leading to unsatisfactory control. Once the treatment failure emerges, further management is difficult and often unsuccessful. One alternative for preventing side effects and treatment failure is to use a low dose. We are reporting our 12-year experience on uninterrupted treatment with levodopa, 3 grams (approximate) daily. The improvement was comparable with the best reports on higher dosage, and the side effects were significantly less frequent. The frequency of dyskinesia and on-off phenomena showed a strong correlation with duration of treatment. Psychiatric side effects were more common on treatment, but frequency of dementia did not correlate with duration of therapy. Improvement reached a peak after 6 months and remained statistically significant for 3.5 years. By the end of 5 years, the disability profile in the group was similar to that prior to levodopa treatment. So far, there is no satisfactory method for preventing treatment failure. From our observations, low dosage of levodopa is a desirable alternative, but not the answer to therapeutic failure. We recommend that levodopa use be delayed until the patient has a functional and/or psychological handicap that cannot be satisfactorily controlled with less potent antiparkinsonian agents.

Clinicopathologic observations in essential tremor: report of six cases.

Essential tremor (ET) is the most common pathologic tremor, but only eight cases have been studied pathologically. We report detailed clinical and neuropathologic studies of six additional patients. We did not find any neuropathologic lesions that might be specific for ET. Moreover, there were no abnormalities of the substantia nigra consistent with Parkinson's disease. The neuropathologic substrate of ET remains unknown.

Prognostic significance of the onset mode in parkinsonism.

Early recognition of the prognosis in parkinsonism is important for both the management and studies aimed at preventing progression of disease. Less favorable prognosis is reported in early-onset postural instability and gait difficulty (PIGD) than in the tremor-onset cases, but the reasons for this are unknown. In 70 autopsy-verified cases, 11 (15.7%) had PIGD, and 34 (49%) had tremor onset. Improvement on levodopa was more common in the tremor-than the PIGD-onset cases (p < 0.05). The majority of tremor-onset cases had Lewy body disease, while the majority of PIGD-onset cases had other forms of pathology. Survival was shorter in the PIGD- than the tremor-onset cases (p < 0.05).

Cyanide-induced parkinsonism: a clinicopathologic report.

An 18-year-old man ingested 975 to 1,300 mg of potassium cyanide in a suicide attempt. He was treated and survived the poisoning episode, but then had severe parkinsonian syndrome, characterized primarily by akinesia and rigidity. He died 19 months after the drug overdose. At autopsy, major destructive changes were found in the globus pallidus and putamen, whereas the melanin-containing zone of substantia nigra was intact. This is the first clinicopathologic report of parkinsonism as a result of cyanide poisoning.

Tolcapone improves motor function in parkinsonian patients with the "wearing-off" phenomenon: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial.

We studied the new catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor tolcapone, 100 and 200 mg, three times daily (tid) in a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial involving 202 parkinsonian patients who were experiencing the "wearing-off" phenomenon on levodopa therapy. After 3 months, patients receiving tolcapone had a significant decrease in mean daily levodopa dose requirement compared with placebo-treated patients (p < 0.01). In patients treated with tolcapone 200 mg tid, daily "off" time, measured using patient diaries, was reduced from baseline by 3.25 hours; this reduction was significantly different from that seen in the placebo group (p < 0.01). Moreover, the number of daily levodopa intakes was reduced significantly in each tolcapone group compared with placebo (p < 0.01). We found significant improvements in motor function and overall efficacy in the tolcapone groups (p < 0.01). The most frequent adverse events were associated with levodopa treatment. Dyskinesia developed or worsened in 18% of patients receiving placebo, in 51% receiving tolcapone 100 mg tid, and in 64% receiving 200 mg tid, with most cases occurring within the first 30 days of the study. Diarrhea was the most frequent nondopaminergic event, occurring in 14% on placebo, 13% on tolcapone 100 mg tid, and 19% on 200 mg tid. Overall 18% of patients withdrew because of adverse events: 15% on placebo, 17% on tolcapone 100 mg tid, and 22% on 200 mg tid. We conclude that tolcapone as an adjunct offers promise for the relief of the "wearing-off " phenomenon in levodopa-treated parkinsonian patients.

A case-control study of smoking habits, dementia, and other illnesses in idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

From 1967 to 1979, 118 incident cases of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) and 236 age- and sex-matched controls from Rochester, MN, were identified. Medical records on patients and controls for 40 years preceding the diagnosis of IPD were reviewed. The relative risk (RR) for ever-smoked and IPD was not significantly different from unity (RR = 0.7, 95% confidence interval = 0.4 to 1.2). The mean age at diagnosis of IPD was significantly younger (p = 0.007) in the ever-smokers (68.8 years) compared with never-smokers (73.8 years), although this needs to be interpreted cautiously. It is concluded that smoking had no effect on the development of IPD. Within 5 years after the index date, a new diagnosis of dementia was made more often in cases than in controls (p = 0.01). Relative risk of IPD significantly increased when prior diagnosis of psychoneurosis and psychosomatic illness had been made.

Tolcapone improves motor function in parkinsonian patients with the "wearing-off" phenomenon: a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial.

We studied the new catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibitor tolcapone, 100 and 200 mg, three times daily (tid) in a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial involving 202 parkinsonian patients who were experiencing the "wearing-off" phenomenon on levodopa therapy. After 3 months, patients receiving tolcapone had a significant decrease in mean daily levodopa dose requirement compared with placebo-treated patients (p < 0.01). In patients treated with tolcapone 200 mg tid, daily "off" time, measured using patient diaries, was reduced from baseline by 3.25 hours; this reduction was significantly different from that seen in the placebo group (p < 0.01). Moreover, the number of daily levodopa intakes was reduced significantly in each tolcapone group compared with placebo (p < 0.01). We found significant improvements in motor function and overall efficacy in the tolcapone groups (p < 0.01). The most frequent adverse events were associated with levodopa treatment. Dyskinesia developed or worsened in 18% of patients receiving placebo, in 51% receiving tolcapone 100 mg tid, and in 64% receiving 200 mg tid, with most cases occurring within the first 30 days of the study. Diarrhea was the most frequent nondopaminergic event, occurring in 14% on placebo, 13% on tolcapone 100 mg tid, and 19% on 200 mg tid. Overall 18% of patients withdrew because of adverse events: 15% on placebo, 17% on tolcapone 100 mg tid, and 22% on 200 mg tid. We conclude that tolcapone as an adjunct offers promise for the relief of the "wearing-off" phenomenon in levodopa-treated parkinsonian patients.

Brain aconitase activity is not decreased in progressive supranuclear palsy.

The novel finding of decreased activity of aconitase, a key Krebs cycle enzyme highly sensitive to oxidative damage, in cybrid cell lines using mitochondrial DNA from patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) implies an enzyme abnormality in brain. However, the authors found that postmortem brain aconitase activity is normal in PSP. This suggests that patients with PSP do not have systemic aconitase deficiency and that data derived from cybrid cell models of neurodegenerative disorders might not always predict similar changes in human brain.

Amantadine treatment is an independent predictor of improved survival in Parkinson's disease.

Amantadine has been used for more than 20 years in the symptomatic treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Several recent discoveries suggest that amantadine could also have a neuroprotective effect in PD. We studied survival in all parkinsonism (including PD and other parkinsonian syndromes) patients attending a single clinic, employing standard survival curves and a Cox regression model, to identify independent predictive variables for survival (while taking into account factors potentially associated with both outcome and treatment selection). Amantadine-treated patients (n = 250) were similar to the patients not treated with amantadine (n = 586) in terms of age, gender, type of parkinsonism, Hoehn and Yahr stage and dementia status at initial neurological visit. Amantadine use was an independent predictor of improved survival (p < 0.01). Improved survival was also associated with a higher 10-year expected survival (based on age, gender, and birth year), absence of dementia, type of parkinsonism = PD, and low Hoehn and Yahr stage (I or II) at initial neurologic visit (all p < 0.01); these additional factors occurred in statistically similar proportions in the groups that were and were not treated with amantadine. The association of improved survival with amantadine use may stem from symptomatic benefit or may reflect a "neuroprotective" effect, mediated through N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonism, dopamine uptake blockade activity, or other mechanisms. Our preliminary findings suggest that a prospective, controlled, randomized trial of amantadine's effects on PD progression is warranted.

Striatal biopterin and tyrosine hydroxylase protein reduction in dopa-responsive dystonia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the mechanism leading to striatal dopamine (DA) loss in dopa-responsive dystonia (DRD). BACKGROUND: Although mutations in the gene GCH1, coding for the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) biosynthetic enzyme guanosine triphosphate-cyclohydrolase I, have been identified in some patients with DRD, the actual status of brain BH4 (the cofactor for tyrosine hydroxylase [TH]) is unknown. METHODS: The authors sequenced GCH1 and measured levels of total biopterin (BP) and total neopterin (NP), TH, and dopa decarboxylase (DDC) proteins, and the DA and vesicular monoamine transporters (DAT, VMAT2) in autopsied brain of two patients with typical DRD. RESULTS: Patient 1 had two GCH1 mutations but Patient 2 had no mutation in the coding region of this gene. Striatal BP levels were markedly reduced (<20% of control subjects) in both patients and were also low in two conditions characterized by degeneration of nigrostriatal DA neurons (PD and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine treated primate), whereas brain NP concentrations were selectively decreased (<45%) in the DRD patients. In the putamen, both DRD patients had severely reduced (<3%) TH protein levels but had normal concentrations of DDC protein, DAT, and VMAT2. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that 1) brain BH4 is decreased substantially in dopa-responsive dystonia, 2) dopa-responsive dystonia can be distinguished from degenerative nigrostriatal dopamine deficiency disorders by the presence of reduced brain neopterin, and 3) the striatal dopamine reduction in dopa-responsive dystonia is caused by decreased TH activity due to low cofactor concentration and to actual loss of TH protein. This reduction of TH protein, which might be explained by reduced enzyme stability/expression consequent to congenital BH4 deficiency, can be expected to limit the efficacy of acute BH4 administration on dopamine biosynthesis in dopa-responsive dystonia.

A randomized, double masked, controlled trial of botulinum toxin type A in essential hand tremor.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of botulinum toxin type A injection in essential tremor of the hand. BACKGROUND: Botulinum toxin type A is an effective treatment for dystonia, spasticity, and other movement disorders and has been found to be useful in open-label studies and one double-masked study of essential hand tremor. METHODS: One hundred thirty-three patients with essential tremor were randomized to low-dose (50 U) or high-dose (100 U) botulinum toxin type A (Botox) or vehicle placebo treatment. Injections were made into the wrist flexors and extensors. Patients were followed for 16 weeks. The effect of treatment was assessed by clinical rating scales, measures of motor tasks and functional disability, and global assessment of treatment. Hand strength was evaluated by clinical rating and by a dynamometer. RESULTS: Both doses of botulinum toxin type A significantly reduced postural tremor on the clinical rating scales after 4 to 16 weeks. However, kinetic tremor was significantly reduced only at the 6-week examination. Measures of motor tasks and functional disability were not consistently improved with botulinum toxin type A treatment. Grip strength was reduced for the low- and high-dose botulinum toxin type A groups as compared with the placebo group. Adverse reactions consisted mainly of dose-dependent hand weakness. CONCLUSION: Botulinum toxin type A injections for essential tremor of the hands resulted in significant improvement of postural, but not kinetic, hand tremors and resulted in limited functional efficacy. Hand weakness is a dose-dependent significant side effect of treatment at the doses used in this study.