Pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease: Mitochondria, alpha-synuclein and much more .

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex, age-related, neurodegenerative disease whose pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. Here, we give an overview of the progress that has been made over the past four decades in our understanding of this disorder. We review the role of mitochondria, environmental toxicants, alpha-synuclein and neuroinflammation in the development of PD. We also discuss more recent data from genetics, which strongly support the endosomal-lysosomal pathways and mitophagy as being central to PD. Finally, we discuss the emerging role of the gut-brain axis as a modulator of PD progression. This article is intended to provide a comprehensive, general and practical review of PD pathogenesis for the general neurologist.

French Consensus: How to diagnose restless legs syndrome.

Correct diagnosis of restless legs syndrome (RLS) is essential to patient care and treatment. Diagnosis is most often clinical and based on diagnostic criteria: the need to move the legs accompanied to varying degrees by unpleasant sensations, predominantly during the evening and improved by movement. In rare cases, clinical examination is insufficient and a polysomnography is necessary. Once a positive diagnosis has been made, a neurological examination and an assessment of iron status are required. The severity of the RLS must be evaluated to determine whether a specific treatment is necessary. Before treatment, it is essential to ensure that a definite diagnosis of RLS has been made and the phenotype characterised. This enables a personal treatment plan and limits the risk of augmentation syndrome.

[Diagnostic strategy for hypersomnolence disorders]. / Orientation diagnostique devant une plainte d'hypersomnolence.

Sleepiness concerns one in five French people and involves a severe accidental risk. The recent notion of hypersomnolence includes excessive daytime sleepiness and the excessive need for sleep. The diagnostic approach to hypersomnolence begins with a clinical exploration by interview and sleep diary in order to specify the symptoms, to compare them with the typology and the patient's individual sleep need to rule out chronic sleep deprivation and a circadian rhythm disorder. In case of poor quality of sleep (or dyssomnia) associated, one must investigate for sleep apnea syndrome or restless legs syndrome with periodic legs movements. Secondary causes include mental or somatic diseases or a toxic origin. The diagnosis of central hypersomnia can be suspected on the characteristics of hypersomnolence or at the end of the diagnostic process. It will require ruling out the most frequent causes of hypersomnolence and the confounding factors for polysomnography interpretation. The causes and consequences associated with hypersomnolence require early detection, precise diagnosis and comprehensive management.

What a gastrointestinal biopsy can tell us about Parkinson's disease?

BACKGROUND: The intraneuronal inclusions called Lewy bodies and neurites, which represent the characteristic pathological changes in Parkinson's disease, are found in the enteric neurons in the great majority of parkinsonian patients. This observation led to a substantial amount of research over the last few years in order to develop a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure in living patients based on gastrointestinal (GI) biopsies. PURPOSE: In this review, we will begin by discussing the studies that focused on the detection of Lewy bodies and neurites in GI biopsies, then broaden the discussion to the pathological changes that also occur in the enteric glial cells and intestinal epithelial cells. We conclude by proposing that a GI biopsy could represent a unique window to assess the whole pathological process of the brain in Parkinson's disease.