[Pilot study of a new tool to optimise dopaminergic treatment in Parkinson's disease: the OPTIMIPARK questionnaire]. / Estudio piloto de una nueva herramienta para optimizar el tratamiento dopaminérgico en la enfermedad de Parkinson: el cuestionario OPTIMIPARK.

INTRODUCTION: Dopaminergic therapy is effective in Parkinson's disease (PD), but should be adjusted as neurodegeneration progresses. AIMS: The aim of this study was to develop a questionnaire (OPTIMIPARK) to assess the patient's dopaminergic status and assist the clinician in adjusting treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The preliminary, self-administered version of OPTIMIPARK includes nine items that take into account motor and non-motor complications as well as disability. Each item is given a score between 0 and 2, and an overall score from 0 to 18 is obtained. Thirty patients completed the OPTIMIPARK questionnaire and an ad hoc questionnaire about it in a single-centre, observational pilot study. Feasibility, acceptability and preliminary agreement with clinical criteria were analysed. RESULTS: Thirty patients with PD (68.5 ± 7.5 years; range: 43-80 years) in Hoehn and Yahr stage I-III completed OPTIMIPARK (mean total score: 6.7 ± 4; range: 0-14) and the ad hoc questionnaire. Clinical decisions were classified as: 'no change', 'adjustments to conventional treatment' and 'surgical or continuous infusion therapy'. The total OPTIMIPARK scores (mean ± standard deviation) for each option were: 1.4 ± 1 (range: 0-3); 7 ± 2.8 (range: 2-11); and 10.8 ± 1.8 (range: 9-14). The 3/4 cut-off point classified 95.5% of patients as 'no change' versus 'adjustment to conventional treatment', and the 9/10 cut-off point discriminated 78.3% of patients from 'adjustment to conventional treatment' versus 'surgical or continuous infusion therapy', with a concordance (kappa and Lin coefficients) of 0.81. CONCLUSIONS: Although still pending a validation study, OPTIMIPARK may be a viable and useful questionnaire for clinical decision-making in the therapeutic adjustment of PD patients and the identification of candidates for advanced therapies.

TITLE: Estudio piloto de una nueva herramienta para optimizar el tratamiento dopaminérgico en la enfermedad de Parkinson: el cuestionario OPTIMIPARK.Introducción. La terapia dopaminérgica es eficaz en la enfermedad de Parkinson (EP), si bien debe ajustarse conforme progresa la neurodegeneración. Objetivos. Desarrollar un cuestionario (OPTIMIPARK) para valorar el estado dopaminérgico del paciente y ayudar al clínico en el ajuste del tratamiento. Pacientes y métodos. La versión preliminar, autoadministrada, de OPTIMIPARK incluye nueve ítems que tienen en cuenta complicaciones motoras y no motoras, así como la discapacidad. Cada ítem se valora de 0 a 2, y se obtiene una puntuación global de 0 a 18. Treinta pacientes contestaron el cuestionario OPTIMIPARK y un cuestionario ad hoc sobre éste en un estudio piloto unicéntrico y observacional. Se analizaron la viabilidad, la aceptabilidad y la concordancia preliminar con los criterios clínicos. Resultados. Treinta pacientes con EP (68,5 ± 7,5 años; rango: 43-80 años) en estadio de Hoehn and Yahr I-III completaron el OPTIMIPARK (media de la puntuación total: 6,7 ± 4; rango: 0-14) y el cuestionario ad hoc. Las decisiones clínicas se clasificaron como: 'sin cambios', 'ajustes en el tratamiento convencional' y 'terapia quirúrgica o de infusión continua'. Las puntuaciones totales de OPTIMIPARK (media ± desviación estándar) para cada opción fueron: 1,4 ± 1 (rango: 0-3); 7 ± 2,8 (rango: 2-11); y 10,8 ± 1,8 (rango: 9-14). El punto de corte 3/4 clasificó al 95,5% de los pacientes 'sin cambios' frente a 'ajustes del tratamiento convencional', y el corte 9/10 discriminó al 78,3% de los pacientes de 'ajuste del tratamiento convencional' frente a 'terapia quirúrgica o de infusión continua', con concordancia (coeficientes kappa y Lin) de 0,81. Conclusiones. Pendiente del estudio de validación, OPTIMIPARK puede ser un cuestionario viable y útil para la toma de decisiones clínicas en el ajuste terapéutico de pacientes con EP y la identificación de candidatos para terapias avanzadas.

Extensive validation study of the Parkinson's Disease Composite Scale.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: A composite instrument able to rapidly and reliably assess the most relevant motor and non-motor afflictions suffered by Parkinson's disease (PD) patients in a real world clinic setting is an unmet need. The recently validated PD Composite Scale (PDCS) was designed to fulfil this gap as a quick, comprehensive PD assessment. The objective of this study was extensive evaluation of the PDCS's clinimetric properties using a large international sample. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study in which the PDCS, the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and the Clinical Impression of Severity Index for PD were applied. Basic clinimetric attributes of the PDCS were analysed. RESULTS: In total, 776 PD patients were included. The PDCS total score showed negligible floor and ceiling effects. Three factors (54.5% of the variance) were identified: factor 1 included motor impairment, fluctuations and disability; factor 2, non-motor symptoms; and factor 3, tremor and complications of therapy. Cronbach's alpha was from 0.66 to 0.79. Inter-rater reliability showed weighted kappa values from 0.79 to 0.98 for items and intraclass correlation coefficient values from 0.95 (Disability) to 0.99 (Motor and total score). The Bland-Altmann method, however, showed irregular concordance. PDCS standard error of measurement and convergent validity with equivalent constructs of other measures were satisfactory (≥0.70). PDCS scores significantly differed by Hoehn and Yahr stage. CONCLUSION: Overall, in line with previous findings, the PDCS is a feasible, acceptable, valid, reliable and precise instrument for quickly and comprehensively assessing PD patients.

First comprehensive tool for screening pain in Parkinson's disease: the King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Questionnaire.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Pain is highly prevalent in Parkinson's disease (PD), impacting patients' ability, mood and quality of life. Detecting the presence of pain in its multiple modalities is necessary for adequate personalized management of PD. A 14-item, PD-specific, patient-based questionnaire (the King's Parkinson's Disease Pain Questionnaire, KPPQ) was designed corresponding to the rater-based KPP Scale (KPPS). The present multicentre study was aimed at testing the validity of this screening tool. METHODS: First, a comparison between the KPPQ scores of patients and matched controls was performed. Next, convergent validity, reproducibility (test-retest) and diagnostic performance of the questionnaire were analysed. RESULTS: Data from 300 patients and 150 controls are reported. PD patients declared significantly more pain symptoms than controls (3.96 ± 2.56 vs. 2.17 ± 1.39; P < 0.0001). The KPPQ convergent validity was high with KPPS total score (rS  = 0.80) but weak or moderate with other pain assessments. Test-retest reliability was satisfactory with kappa values ≥0.65 except for item 5, Dyskinetic pains (κ = 0.44), and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for the KPPQ total score was 0.98. After the scores of the KPPS were adapted for screening (0, no symptom; ≥1, symptom present), a good agreement was found between the KPPQ and the KPPS (ICC = 0.88). A strong correlation (rS  = 0.80) between the two instruments was found. The diagnostic parameters of the KPPQ were very satisfactory as a whole, with a global accuracy of 78.3%-98.3%. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the KPPQ is a useful, reliable and valid screening instrument for pain in PD to advance patient-related outcomes.

The Donor Kidney Biopsy and Its Implications in Predicting Graft Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

Despite a growing organ shortage in the United States, many deceased donor kidneys removed for transplantation are discarded. Kidney biopsy findings often play a role in these discards, although it is not clear whether biopsies reliably inform acceptance decisions. Therefore, we carried out a systematic review of the medical literature on the utility of both procurement and implantation biopsies for predicting posttransplant outcomes. Between January 1, 1994 and July 1, 2014, 47 studies were published in the English language literature that examined the association between pretransplant donor biopsy findings from 50 or more donors (with more than half being from deceased donors) and either posttransplant graft failure, delayed graft function, or graft function. In general, study quality was poor. All were retrospective or did not indicate if they were prospective. Results were heterogeneous, with authors as often as not concluding that biopsy results did not predict posttransplant outcomes. The percent glomerular sclerosis was most often examined, and failed to predict graft failure in 7 of 14 studies. Of 15 semiquantitative scoring systems proposed, none consistently predicted posttransplant outcomes across studies. Routine use of biopsies to help determine whether or not to transplant a kidney should be reexamined.

Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease: association between stimulation parameters and cognitive performance.

Chronic subthalamic nucleus stimulation produces inconsistent patterns of cognitive change in Parkinson's disease patients. Individually tailored stimulation parameters may contribute to this variable pattern of change. Systematic variation of amplitude, pulse width, and rate of stimulation has been reported to produce unique changes in motor and limbic response. To evaluate the association between stimulation parameters and cognitive/behavioral response, neuropsychological performance and stimulation parameter data of 8 Parkinson's disease patients were submitted to Pearson r correlation analysis. Results indicate that each stimulation parameter was significantly associated with a subset of measures. The current findings raise the possibility that adverse cognitive/behavioral responses may be treated through parameter modification while maintaining motor symptom efficacy.

Effects of repeated maternal separations on the adrenocortical response to stress of preweanling rats.

Previous data indicate that the infant rat shows a marked increase in adrenocortical responsiveness to stress immediately following prolonged maternal separation. In Experiment 1 we studied the immediate effects of repeated maternal deprivation. Our results indicate that the increase in basal as well as stress-induced corticosterone levels is a direct function of the length of the deprivation period immediately preceding testing, and is not cumulative. In Experiment 2 we examined the long-term consequences of maternal deprivation on adrenal responsivity. Four days following a single 24-h period of maternal deprivation, pups remained hyperresponsive to stress, although their basal levels of corticosterone had returned to control values. Shorter periods of deprivation (which did result in increased responsivity immediately following deprivation) did not have persistent effects. Our data suggest: 1) short periods of deprivation do not have a cumulative effect, and 2) there is a critical length of deprivation beyond which persistent changes in adrenocortical responsivity ensue.

Microradiography using a noncommercially constructed Grenz ray unit.

A simplified microradiographic technique is described that does not require expensive, specialized equipment. Single emulsion radiographic film was used in conjunction with a noncommercially constructed Grenz ray unit to produce good to excellent general survey microradiographs of tissue specimens. This technique proved satisfactory for visualization of vessels larger than 100 mu in diameter.