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INTRODUCTION/AIMS: Fatigue (subjective perception) and fatigability (objective motor performance worsening) are relevant aspects of disability in individuals with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The effect of nusinersen on fatigability in SMA patients has been investigated with conflicting results. We aimed to evaluate this in adult with SMA3. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study, including adult ambulant patients with SMA3, data available on 6-minute walk test (6MWT) and Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale-Expanded (HFMSE) at baseline and at least at 6 months of treatment with nusinersen. We investigated fatigability, estimated as 10% or higher decrease in walked distance between the first and sixth minute of the 6MWT, at baseline and over the 14-month follow-up. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients (56% females) were included. The 6MWT improved after 6, 10, and 14 months of treatment (p < 0.05). Of the 27 patients who completed the entire follow-up, 37% improved (6MWT distance increase ≥30 m), 48.2% remained stable, and 14.8% worsened (6MWT distance decline ≥30 m). Fatigability was found at baseline in 26/38 (68%) patients and confirmed at subsequent time points (p < 0.05) without any significant change over the treatment period. There was no correlation between fatigability and SMN2 copy number, sex, age at disease onset, age at baseline, nor with 6MWT total distance and baseline HFMSE score. DISCUSSION: Fatigability was detected at baseline in approximately 2/3 of SMA3 walker patients, without any correlation with clinical features, included motor performance. No effect on fatigability was observed during the 14-month treatment period with nusinersen.
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Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) rarely presents with painful symptoms, which mainly occur in association with myelin protein zero (MPZ) gene mutations. We aimed to further characterize the features of painful neuropathic phenotypes in MPZ-related CMT. We report on a 58-year-old woman with a longstanding history of intermittent migrant pain and dysesthesias. Examination showed minimal clinical signs of neuropathy along with mild changes upon electroneurographic examination, consistent with an intermediate pattern, and small-fiber loss upon skin biopsy. Genetic testing identified the heterozygous variant p.Trp101Ter in MPZ. We identified another 20 CMT patients in the literature who presented with neuropathic pain as a main feature in association with MPZ mutations, mostly in the extracellular MPZ domain; the majority of these patients showed late onset (14/20), with motor-nerve-conduction velocities predominantly in the intermediate range (12/20). It is hypothesized that some MPZ mutations could manifest with, or predispose to, neuropathic pain. However, the mechanisms linking MPZ mutations and pain-generating nerve changes are unclear, as are the possible role of modifier factors. This peculiar CMT presentation may be diagnostically misleading, as it is suggestive of an acquired pain syndrome rather than of an inherited neuropathy.
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Enfermedad de Charcot-Marie-Tooth , Neuralgia , Neuropatía de Fibras Pequeñas , Femenino , Humanos , Persona de Mediana Edad , Enfermedad de Charcot-Marie-Tooth/diagnóstico , Enfermedad de Charcot-Marie-Tooth/genética , Proteína P0 de la Mielina/genética , Mutación , Pruebas Genéticas , Neuralgia/etiología , Neuralgia/genética , Neuropatía de Fibras Pequeñas/genéticaRESUMEN
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy autosomal recessive 8 (LGMDR8) is a rare clinical manifestation caused by the presence of biallelic variants in the TRIM32 gene. We present the clinical, molecular, histopathological, and muscle magnetic resonance findings of a novel 63-years-old LGMDR8 patient of Italian origins, who went undiagnosed for 24 years. Clinical exome sequencing identified two TRIM32 missense variants, c.1181G > A p.(Arg394His) and c.1781G > A p.(Ser594Asp), located in the NHL1 and NHL4 structural domains, respectively, of the TRIM32 protein. We conducted a literature review of the clinical and instrumental data associated to the so far known 26 TRIM32 variants, carried biallelically by 53 LGMDR8 patients reported to date in 20 papers. Our proband's variants were previously identified only in three independent LGMDR8 patients in homozygosis, therefore our case is the first in literature to be described as compound heterozygous for such variants. Our report also provides additional data in support of their pathogenicity, since p.(Arg394His) is currently classified as a variant of uncertain significance, while p.(Ser594Asp) as likely pathogenic. Taken together, these findings might be useful to improve both the genetic counseling and the diagnostic accuracy of this rare neuromuscular condition.
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BACKGROUND: Natural history of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) in adult age has not been fully elucidated yet, including factors predicting disease progression and response to treatments. Aim of this retrospective, cross-sectional study, is to investigate motor function across different ages, disease patterns and gender in adult SMA untreated patients. METHODS: Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) clinical and molecular diagnosis of SMA2, SMA3 or SMA4 and (2) clinical assessments performed in adult age (>18 years). RESULTS: We included 64 (38.8%) females and 101 (61.2%) males (p=0.0025), among which 21 (12.7%) SMA2, 141 (85.5%) SMA3 and 3 (1.8%) SMA4. Ratio of sitters/walkers within the SMA3 subgroup was significantly (p=0.016) higher in males (46/38) than in females (19/38). Median age at onset was significantly (p=0.0071) earlier in females (3 years; range 0-16) than in males (4 years; range 0.3-28), especially in patients carrying 4 SMN2 copies. Median Hammersmith Functional Rating Scale Expanded scores were significantly (p=0.0040) lower in males (16, range 0-64) than in females (40, range 0-62); median revised upper limb module scores were not significantly (p=0.059) different between males (24, 0-38) and females (33, range 0-38), although a trend towards worse performance in males was observed. In SMA3 patients carrying three or four SMN2 copies, an effect of female sex in prolonging ambulation was statistically significant (p=0.034). CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed a relevant gender effect on SMA motor function with higher disease severity in males especially in the young adult age and in SMA3 patients.
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Atrofia Muscular Espinal , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia , Adulto Joven , Masculino , Humanos , Femenino , Preescolar , Adolescente , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/epidemiología , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/genética , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/tratamiento farmacológico , Estudios Transversales , Estudios Retrospectivos , Atrofia Muscular Espinal/epidemiología , Atrofia Muscular Espinal/genética , Progresión de la EnfermedadRESUMEN
The clinical spectrum of small fiber neuropathy (SFN) encompasses manifestations related to the involvement of thinly myelinated A-delta and unmyelinated C fibers, including not only the classical distal phenotype, but also a non-length-dependent (NLD) presentation that can be patchy, asymmetrical, upper limb-predominant, or diffuse. This narrative review is focused on NLD-SFN. The diagnosis of NLD-SFN can be problematic, due to its varied and often atypical presentation, and diagnostic criteria developed for distal SFN are not suitable for NLD-SFN. The topographic pattern of NLD-SFN is likely related to ganglionopathy restricted to the small neurons of dorsal root ganglia. It is often associated with systemic diseases, but about half the time is idiopathic. In comparison with distal SFN, immune-mediated diseases are more common than dysmetabolic conditions. Treatment is usually based on the management of neuropathic pain. Disease-modifying therapy, including immunotherapy, may be effective in patients with identified causes. Future research on NLD-SFN is expected to further clarify the interconnected aspects of phenotypic characterization, diagnostic criteria, and pathophysiology.
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Neuralgia , Neuropatía de Fibras Pequeñas , Ganglios Espinales , Humanos , Fibras Nerviosas Amielínicas , Neuralgia/diagnóstico , Neuralgia/etiología , Neuralgia/terapia , Neuropatía de Fibras Pequeñas/diagnóstico , Neuropatía de Fibras Pequeñas/etiología , Neuropatía de Fibras Pequeñas/terapiaAsunto(s)
Atrofia/genética , Epilepsia/genética , Enfermedades Musculares/genética , N-Acetilglucosaminiltransferasas/genética , Atrofia/patología , Niño , Epilepsia/patología , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad , Humanos , Masculino , Enfermedades Musculares/patología , Mutación Missense/genéticaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively investigate safety and efficacy of nusinersen in a large cohort of adult Italian patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). METHODS: Inclusion criteria were: (1) clinical and molecular diagnosis of SMA2 or SMA3; (2) nusinersen treatment started in adult age (>18 years); (3) clinical data available at least at baseline (T0-beginning of treatment) and 6 months (T6). RESULTS: We included 116 patients (13 SMA2 and 103 SMA3) with median age at first administration of 34 years (range 18-72). The Hammersmith Functional Rating Scale Expanded (HFMSE) in patients with SMA3 increased significantly from baseline to T6 (median change +1 point, p<0.0001), T10 (+2, p<0.0001) and T14 (+3, p<0.0001). HFMSE changes were independently significant in SMA3 sitter and walker subgroups. The Revised Upper Limb Module (RULM) in SMA3 significantly improved between T0 and T14 (median +0.5, p=0.012), with most of the benefit observed in sitters (+2, p=0.018). Conversely, patients with SMA2 had no significant changes of median HFMSE and RULM between T0 and the following time points, although a trend for improvement of RULM was observed in those with some residual baseline function. The rate of patients showing clinically meaningful improvements (as defined during clinical trials) increased from 53% to 69% from T6 to T14. CONCLUSIONS: Our data provide further evidence of nusinersen safety and efficacy in adult SMA2 and SMA3, with the latter appearing to be cumulative over time. In patients with extremely advanced disease, effects on residual motor function are less clear.
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Oligonucleótidos Antisentido/uso terapéutico , Oligonucleótidos/uso terapéutico , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/tratamiento farmacológico , Adolescente , Adulto , Edad de Inicio , Anciano , Estudios de Cohortes , Femenino , Volumen Espiratorio Forzado , Estado Funcional , Humanos , Inyecciones Espinales , Italia , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Estudios Retrospectivos , Sedestación , Atrofias Musculares Espinales de la Infancia/fisiopatología , Resultado del Tratamiento , Capacidad Vital , Prueba de Paso , Caminata , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The determinants of restless legs syndrome (RLS) occurring in co-morbid association with Parkinson's disease (PD) are currently unknown. METHODS: We performed a skin biopsy in proximal and distal sites of lower limbs in four PD patients, in which RLS had emerged in the pre-motor phase. RESULTS: A reduced somato-sensory intraepidermal nerve fiber (IENF) density mainly in the proximal sites, indicative of non-length-dependent small fiber pathology (SFP), was found in all patients, in absence of electroneurographic signs of large fiber neuropathy. DISCUSSION: The lack of known secondary causes of SFP is consistent with a process intrinsic to PD and, likewise, the absence of known disease conditions associated to RLS, would support the view of a link between the latter disorder and the distal axonopathy. The non-length-dependent pattern of SFP suggest an involvement of the somato-sensory dorsal root ganglia small neurons, consistent with a somato-sensory neuronopathy, which characterizes the RLS in these patients. CONCLUSION: If these findings will be confirmed in a larger cohort of patients, the RLS co-morbid with PD should be regarded as an heterogeneous condition, since the one emerging in the pre-motor phase might represent a prodromal feature of the neurodegenerative disease as an epiphenomenon of somato-sensory SFP. In contrast, for the RLS developing in clinically manifest PD, a possible association with the impairment of the DAergic diencephalo-spinal pathway and the induction by chronic DAergic treatment has been hypothesized.
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Enfermedad de Parkinson/complicaciones , Síndrome de las Piernas Inquietas/complicaciones , Comorbilidad , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Síntomas Prodrómicos , Síndrome de las Piernas Inquietas/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
INTRODUCTION: We sought to obtain normative values for radial nerve F-wave variables, recording with surface electrodes from the anconeus muscle. METHODS: We tested 30 healthy participants (17 women, 13 men) and measured the following variables: number of F waves/40 traces (F%); minimum, maximum, and mean F-wave latency (FMIN, FMAX, FMED, respectively); F-wave chronodispersion (FCHR); interside differences of F% and FMIN (DF% and DFMIN, respectively). RESULTS: The mean F% was 41.3%; the normative values of FMIN, FMED, FMAX, and FCHR were < 21.2, <22.1, <23.3, and < 4.0 ms, respectively; and normative values of DF% and DFMIN were < 16.6% and < 1.1 ms, respectively. Height was the sole independent predictor in a regression model of FMIN, FMED, and FMAX; this explained 37%-44% of the variability. DISCUSSION: We identified a feasible and useful technique to record radial nerve F waves from the anconeus muscle and obtained normative values of F-wave variables. Muscle Nerve 59:244-246, 2019.
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Potenciales de Acción/fisiología , Músculo Esquelético/inervación , Conducción Nerviosa/fisiología , Nervio Radial/fisiología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Estimulación Eléctrica , Electrodos , Electromiografía , Femenino , Voluntarios Sanos , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Valores de Referencia , Análisis de Regresión , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
We investigated the pattern of volitional facial motor deficits in acute stroke patients. We assessed the strength of single facial movements and correlated it to the site of infarct classified on computed tomography scans. Exclusion criteria were previous stroke, cerebral hemorrhage, and subcortical stroke. Results showed that weakness in eyelid closure was associated with anterior cerebral artery (ACA) stroke. Weakness in lip opening was associated with middle cerebral artery (MCA) stroke. We suggest that sparing of upper facial movements in MCA stroke is due to the presence of an upper face motor representation in both the MCA and ACA territories.
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Parálisis Facial/diagnóstico por imagen , Tomografía Computarizada por Rayos X/métodos , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Anticuerpos Monoclonales/efectos adversos , Anticuerpos Monoclonales Humanizados , ADN Viral/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Parálisis Facial/líquido cefalorraquídeo , Parálisis Facial/tratamiento farmacológico , Parálisis Facial/etiología , Femenino , Humanos , Virus JC/metabolismo , Leucoencefalopatía Multifocal Progresiva/inducido químicamente , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Movimiento/efectos de los fármacos , Natalizumab , Estadísticas no Paramétricas , Accidente Cerebrovascular/complicacionesRESUMEN
In our twenty years' experience of dermatological visits specifically for nail diseases, we saw 105 patients with pathologically proven nail lichen planus. We prescribed treatment to 75 of these patients and we report here the results of treatment. Twenty-seven of these patients were followed-up for more than 5 years (mean follow-up was 10 years): 9 of them (9/27 = 33.3%) did not respond to treatment with steroids (intramuscular or intralesional), 18 were cured (18/27 = 66.7%), 11 relapsed (11/27 = 40.7%). This study is important for the fact that no one has previously published the results of such a long follow-up of patients with nail lichen planus.