Bradykinesia in motoneuron diseases.

OBJECTIVE: Only few studies investigated voluntary movement abnormalities in patients with motoneuron diseases (MNDs) or their neurophysiological correlates. We aimed to kinematically assess finger tapping abnormalities in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), as compared to healthy controls (HCs), and their relationship with motoneuron involvement. METHODS: Fourteen ALS and 5 PLS patients were enrolled. Finger tapping was assessed by a motion analysis system. Patients underwent a central motor conduction time assessment, a motor nerve conduction study, and needle electromyography. Data were compared to those of 79 HCs using non-parametric tests. Possible relationships between clinical, kinematic, and neurophysiological data were assessed in patients. RESULTS: As a major finding, ALS and PLS patients performed finger tapping slower than HCs. In both conditions, movement slowness correlated with muscle strength. In ALS, movement slowness also correlated with the amplitude of the compound muscle action potential recorded from the muscles involved in the task and with denervation activity. No correlations were found between slowness, measures of upper motoneuron involvement, and other clinical and neurophysiological data. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides novel information on voluntary movement abnormalities in MNDs. SIGNIFICANCE: The results highlight the pathophysiological role of motoneurons in generating movement slowness.

Brain morphological changes in hypokinetic dysarthria of Parkinson's disease and use of machine learning to predict severity.

BACKGROUND: Up to 90% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) eventually develop the speech and voice disorder referred to as hypokinetic dysarthria (HD). However, the brain morphological changes associated with HD have not been investigated. Moreover, no reliable model for predicting the severity of HD based on neuroimaging has yet been developed. METHODS: A total of 134 PD patients were included in this study and divided into a training set and a test set. All participants underwent a structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and neuropsychological evaluation. Individual cortical thickness, subcortical structure, and white matter volume were extracted, and their association with HD severity was analyzed. After feature selection, a machine-learning model was established using a support vector machine in the training set. The severity of HD was then predicted in the test set. RESULTS: Atrophy of the right precentral cortex and the right fusiform gyrus was significantly associated with HD. No association was found between HD and volume of white matter or subcortical structures. Favorable and optimal performance of machine learning on HD severity prediction was achieved using feature selection, giving a correlation coefficient (r) of .7516 and a coefficient of determination (R2 ) of .5649 (P < .001). CONCLUSION: The brain morphological changes were associated with HD. Excellent prediction of the severity of HD was achieved using machine learning based on neuroimaging.

Dual threshold neural closed loop deep brain stimulation in Parkinson disease patients.

BACKGROUND: Closed loop deep brain stimulation (clDBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) using subthalamic (STN) neural feedback has been shown to be efficacious only in the acute post-operative setting, using externalized leads and stimulators. OBJECTIVE: To determine feasibility of neural (N)clDBS using the clinical implanted neurostimulator (Activa™ PC + S, FDA IDE approved) and a novel beta dual threshold algorithm in tremor and bradykinesia dominant PD patients on chronic DBS. METHODS: 13 PD subjects (20 STNs), on open loop (ol)DBS for 22 ±â€¯7.8 months, consented to NclDBS driven by beta (13-30 Hz) power using a dual threshold algorithm, based on patient specific therapeutic voltage windows. Tremor was assessed continuously, and bradykinesia was evaluated after 20 min of NclDBS using a repetitive wrist flexion-extension task (rWFE). Total electrical energy delivered (TEED) on NclDBS was compared to olDBS using the same active electrode. RESULTS: NclDBS was tolerated for 21.67 [21.10-26.15] minutes; no subject stopped early. Resting beta band power was measurable and similar between tremor and bradykinesia dominant patients. NclDBS improved bradykinesia and tremor while delivering only 56.86% of the TEED of olDBS; rWFE velocity (p = 0.003) and frequency (p < 0.001) increased; tremor was below 0.15 rad/sec for 95.4% of the trial and averaged 0.26 rad/sec when present. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to demonstrate that STN NclDBS is feasible, efficacious and more efficient than olDBS in tremor and bradykinesia dominant PD patients, on long-term DBS, using an implanted clinical neurostimulator and driven by beta power with a novel dual threshold algorithm, based on customized therapeutic voltage windows.

The nature of bradykinesia in schizophrenia treated with antipsychotics.

Recognizing drug-induced parkinsonian bradykinesia in psychosis patients can be challenging due to overlapping presentation with psychomotor slowing associated with depression, negative symptoms, or cognitive disturbances. In this study, we apply prior findings on the pathophysiology of bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease to gain an understanding of motor slowing in psychosis patients. Handwriting movements from 57 healthy participants and 70 psychosis patients were recorded on a digitizing tablet. Temporal and kinematic features were extracted from handwritten loops and circles. An independent objective measure based on peak velocity for circles written at maximum speed was used to classify patients as bradykinetic. Using a statistical cut-point derived from normative data, 64% of the patients met criterion for bradykinesia compared with 46% using a conventional observer-based severity rating scale. Bradykinetic patients produced handwriting movements with longer stroke durations, smaller amplitudes and lower peak velocities compared with non-bradykinetic patients. Thirty-six percent of the pen strokes produced by the bradykinetic patients were non-ballistic compare with 20% for the non-bradykinetic patients. The proportion of nonballistic movements observed in handwriting was unrelated to current antipsychotic dose, severity of negative psychosis or depression. The ease-of-use and standardization of a tablet-based approach to quantifying parkinsonian bradykinesia can aid in diagnosing parkinsonian bradykinesia in patients treated with antipsychotics.

Motor asymmetry over time in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients are usually asymmetric at onset. The literature on change in asymmetry over time has mixed results, with some studies suggesting a retained asymmetry and others suggesting a progression towards symmetry. The aim of this study was to assess change in asymmetry over time. METHODS: Charts of 109 consecutive patients who had been followed in a movement disorders clinic for routine PD care were retrospectively reviewed. All patients had been treated for PD symptoms and had been seen during at least 2 annual time points over 5 years. Interval absolute differences in Unified PD rating scale (UPDRS) scores for bradykinesia, rigidity, and tremor between the right and left sides were calculated for annual time points. RESULTS: Neither bradykinesia, rigidity, nor tremor became more symmetric over a 5-year period; there was not a statistically significant change in asymmetry at any annual time point for these motor symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of observed change in UPDRS score difference suggests that motor symptoms in PD patients remain asymmetric. This is important to consider clinically when predicting the natural course of PD and considering alternative diagnoses to PD. These results may also be important in developing hypotheses for disease progression.

Analysis of nocturnal hypokinesia and sleep quality in Parkinson's disease.

Nocturnal hypokinesia/akinesia and sleep disorder are believed to be common in Parkinson's disease (PD), but are often underestimated. To date, only a few studies have focused on nocturnal symptoms related to motor function and sleep quality in PD patients, and the assessments were based mainly on the subjective descriptions of the patients. In this study, we assessed the relationships between motor symptoms and sleep quality in 29 PD patients (17 PD patients reporting impaired bed mobility (IBM) and 12 patients without IBM). All the participants were monitored using multisite inertial sensors and polysomnography in sleep-monitoring rooms for whole night. Compared with PD-IBM patients, PD+IBM patients tended to have fewer turning-over episodes and smaller degree turns. Meanwhile, PD+IBM patients had worse Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) scores, and less total sleep time (TST) than PD-IBM patients. Spearman correlation analyses found that the number of turning-over events showed negative correlations with disease duration (r = -0.378, P < 0.05) and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) axial scores (r = -0.370, P < 0.05). Moreover, TST (r = 0.505, p < 0.05) and sleep efficiency (SE) (r = 0.473, p < 0.05) positively correlated with the number of turns in bed. Multivariate linear regression analyses showed that UPDRS axial scores and the number of turns were significantly associated with TST (both p < 0.05). In conclusion, the number of turns in bed and UPDRS axial scores were two significant factors affecting sleep quality. Multisite inertial sensors can be used to quantitatively evaluate nocturnal motor functions in PD patients.

Extrapyramidal signs in neurosarcoidosis versus multiple sclerosis: Is TNF alpha the link?

Specific inflammatory pathways and specifically Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-α) have been associated with the neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). TNFα is also known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and TNF blockers can ameliorate the disease. In contrast, multiple sclerosis (MS) is clearly exacerbated by anti- TNF-α medications. We have therefore hypothesized that Parkinson-like disease would be more common in neurosarcoidosis (NS) compared to MS. The aim of this case-control study was therefore to assess the frequency of extrapyramidal signs in patients with NS compared to MS patients. In order to do so the medical records of NS patients and of age and gender matched MS patients were reviewed and data regarding the clinical features, ancillary tests performed, treatment, and outcome were documented. Patients were then examined in a uniform manner for the presence of extrapyramidal signs. We found that in the NS group 8 patients had minor signs, one had mild functional disability and 3 subjects had significant extrapyramidal signs compatible with the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. All extrapyramidal signs found in 5 of the MS group were minor. The proportional severity of extrapyramidal signs was significantly higher (p=0.045, chi square test) in the NS group compared to the MS group. We conclude that the specificity of extrapyramidal to NS raises the intriguing question of whether specific inflammatory pathways involving TNF-α play a role in the pathogenesis of PD and therefore may be a therapeutic target.

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori infection might improve clinical status of patients with Parkinson's disease, especially on bradykinesia.

OBJECTIVES: Previous studies have shown that Helicobacter pylori infection might make clinical status worse in patients with Parkinson's disease and Helicobacter pylori eradication might improve clinical status by modifying the pharmacokinetics of L-dopa. Here, we investigate whether Helicobacter pylori eradication could benefit idiopathic parkinsonism and Helicobacter pylori infection will effect which aspect of motor symptom significantly. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A cohort study involving idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients, screened for Helicobacter status by 13C urea breath test. Clinical status was evaluated by using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn-Yahr stage. If patients had motor complications, they were quantified at the "on" time. The Helicobacter pylori positive patients could choose to receive Helicobacter pylori eradication or not by themselves. Group 1 was Helicobacter pylori negative patients. Group 2 was Helicobacter pylori positive patients who didn't receive eradication treatment. Group 3 was Helicobacter pylori positive patients who received successful eradication treatment. Repeat clinical assessments and 13C urea breath test was performed at 1year later. Numerical data were expressed as mean±standard deviation (SD) RESULTS: Ninety-four consecutive patients with Parkinson's disease were recruited and underwent the initial 13C urea breath test, but only forty-eight patients successfully completed the total study. In Group 3, the UPDRS-III scores (=Motor Examination Section Scores) were significantly lower 1year later compared to baseline (18.3±8.38 vs. 25.9±8.37, P=0.007). The differences were main in UPDRS-23 (=Finger Taps) (1.7±1.16 vs. 2.4±1.51, P=0.045), UPDRS-25 (Rapid Alternation Movements of Hands) (1.6±1.35 vs. 2.4±1.71, P=0.031) and UPDRS-26 (=Leg Agility) (1.3±1.25 vs.2.1±0.99, P=0.011). There was difference among three groups in the UPDRS-26 (P=0.040) of clinical status change of one year. CONCLUSION: The eradication of Helicobacter might improve the clinical status of idiopathic parkinsonism, especially on bradykinesia.

Clinical Features Associated with Delirium Motor Subtypes in Older Inpatients: Results of a Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVE: To date motor subtypes of delirium have been evaluated in single-center studies with a limited examination of the relationship between predisposing factors and motor profile of delirium. We sought to report the prevalence and clinical profile of subtypes of delirium in a multicenter study. METHODS: This is a point prevalence study nested in the "Delirium Day 2015", which included 108 acute and 12 rehabilitation wards in Italy. Delirium was detected using the 4-AT and motor subtypes were measured with the Delirium Motor Subtype Scale (DMSS). A multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with delirium subtypes. RESULTS: Of 429 patients with delirium, the DMSS was completed in 275 (64%), classifying 21.5% of the patients with hyperactive delirium, 38.5% with hypoactive, 27.3% with mixed and 12.7% with the non-motor subtype. The 4-AT score was higher in the hyperactive subtype, similar in the hypoactive, mixed subtypes, while it was lowest in the non-motor subtype. Dementia was associated with all three delirium motor subtypes (hyperactive, OR 3.3, 95% CI: 1.2-8.7; hypoactive, OR 2.8, 95% CI: 1.2-6.5; mixed OR 2.6, 95% CI: 1.1-6.2). Atypical antipsychotics were associated with hypoactive delirium (OR 0.23, 95% CI: 0.1-0.7), while intravenous lines were associated with mixed delirium (OR 2.9, 95% CI: 1.2-6.9). CONCLUSIONS: The study shows that hypoactive delirium is the most common subtype among hospitalized older patients. Specific clinical features were associated with different delirium subtypes. The use of standardized instruments can help to characterize the phenomenology of different motor subtypes of delirium.

A systematic review of mobility/immobility in thromboembolism risk assessment models for hospitalized patients.

Hospitalized patients are at risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and prophylaxis is often suboptimal due to difficulty in identifying at-risk patients. Simple and validated risk-assessment models (RAMs) are available to assist clinicians in identifying patients who have a high risk for developing VTE. Despite the well-documented association of immobility with increased risk of thrombosis, immobility is not consistently defined in clinical studies. We conducted a systematic review of published VTE RAMs and used objective criteria to determine how the term immobility is defined in RAMs. We identified 17 RAMs with six being externally validated. The concept of immobility is vaguely described in different RAMs, impacting the validity of these models in clinical practice. The wide variability in defining mobility in RAMs precluded its accurate clinical application, further limiting generalization of published RAMs. Externally validated RAMs with clearly defined qualitative or quantitative terms of immobility are needed to assess VTE risk in real-time at the point-of-care.

Mirror Visual Feedback to Improve Bradykinesia in Parkinson's Disease.

Mirror visual feedback (MVF) therapy has been applied to improve upper limb function in stroke. When combined with motor training, MVF improves the performance of the trained and untrained hand by enhancing the excitability of both primary motor cortices (M1s). Bradykinesia is a typical feature of Parkinson's disease (PD), characterized by slowness in the execution of movement. This condition is often asymmetrical and possibly supported by a volitional hypoactivation of M1. MVF therapy could tentatively treat bradykinesia since the untrained hand, which benefits from the exercise, is generally more severely impaired in undertaking sequential movements. Aim of the study was to evaluate whether MVF therapy may improve bradykinesia of the more affected hand in PD patients. Twelve PD patients and twelve healthy controls performed for 10 minutes a finger sequence, receiving MVF of the more affected/nondominant hand. Before and after MVF training, participants performed a finger sequence at their spontaneous pace with both hands. M1 excitability was assessed in the trained and untrained hemispheres by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation. Movement speed increased after MVF training in either hand of both groups. MVF therapy enhanced cortical excitability of M1s in both groups. Our preliminary data support the use of MVF therapy to improve bradykinesia in PD patients.

Infection as cause of immobility and occurrence of venous thromboembolism: analysis of 1635 medical cases from the RIETE registry.

Several risk assessment models include infection and immobility among the items to be considered for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention. However, information on patients with infection leading to immobility and developing VTE are limited, as well as on the role of specific types of infection. Data were collected from the worldwide RIETE registry, including patients with symptomatic objectively confirmed VTE, and followed-up for at least 3 months. The overall population of RIETE at June 2013 (n = 47,390) was considered. Acute infection leading to immobility was reported in 3.9 % of non-surgical patients. Compared with patients immobilized due to dementia, patients with infection had a shorter duration of immobilization prior to VTE (less than 4 weeks in 94.2 vs. 25.9 % of cases; p < 0.001). During the 3-month follow-up, VTE patients with infection versus those with dementia had a lower rate of fatal bleeding (0.5 vs. 1.1 %; p < 0.05) or fatal PE (1.7 vs. 3.5 %; p < 0.01). Patients with respiratory tract infections had more likely PE as initial VTE presentation than other types of infection (62.3 vs. 37.7 %; p < 0.001). Significantly more patients with pneumonia than those with other respiratory infections had received VTE prophylaxis (50.2 vs. 30.6 %; p < 0.001). Following VTE, patients with sepsis showed a significantly higher risk of fatal bleeding. Based on our real-world data, infection seems to contribute to the pathogenesis of VTE by accelerating the effects of immobility. Its role as VTE risk factor probably deserves further attention and specific assessment in order to optimize VTE prophylaxis and treatment.

Sensor-based evaluation and treatment of nocturnal hypokinesia in Parkinson's disease: An evidence-based review.

The manifestations of nocturnal movements in Parkinson's disease (PD) are protean, with major disabilities related to nocturnal hypokinesia. While it can be assessed by clinical interviews and screening instruments, these are often inaccurate and prone to recall bias. In light of advances in sensor technology, we explored the use of sensors in the study of nocturnal hypokinesia, by performing a systematic review of the professional literature on this topic. Evidence suggests that nocturnal hypokinesia exists even in patients in the early stages, and PD patients turned significantly less and with much slower speed and acceleration than controls, partly related to low nocturnal dopamine level. We conducted another systematic review to evaluate the evidence of the efficacy of dopaminergic agents in the treatment of nocturnal hypokinesia. Several lines of evidence support the use of long-acting drugs or by continuous administration of short-acting agents to control symptoms. Sensor parameters could be considered as one of the important objective outcomes in future clinical trials investigating potential drugs to treat nocturnal hypokinesia. Physicians should be aware of this technology as it can aid the clinical assessment of nocturnal hypokinesia and enhance the quality of patient care. In addition, the use of sensors currently is being considered for various aspects of research on early diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of PD patients.

Parkinson's Disease Case Ascertainment in the EPIC Cohort: The NeuroEPIC4PD Study.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Large epidemiological prospective studies represent an important opportunity for investigating risk factors for rare diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we describe the procedures we used for ascertaining PD cases in the EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. METHODS: The following three-phase procedure was used: (1) elaboration of a NeuroEPIC4PD template for clinical data collection, (2) identification of all potential PD cases via record linkage and (3) validation of the diagnosis through clinical record revision, in a population of 220,494 subjects recruited in 7 European countries. All cases were labelled with the NeuroEPIC4PD diagnoses of 'definite', 'very likely', 'probable', or 'possible' PD. RESULTS: A total of 881 PD cases were identified, with over 2,741,780 person-years of follow-up (199 definite, 275 very likely, 146 probable, and 261 possible). Of these, 734 were incident cases. The mean age at diagnosis was 67.9 years (SD 9.2) and 458 patients (52.0%) were men. Bradykinesia was the most frequent presenting motor sign (76.5%). Tremor-dominant and akinetic rigid forms of PD were the most common types of PD. A total of 289 patients (32.8%) were dead at the time of the last follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This exercise proved that it is feasible to ascertain PD in large population-based cohort studies and offers a potential framework to be replicated in similar studies.

Cognitive impairment in early-stage non-demented Parkinson's disease patients.

OBJECTIVES: In Parkinson's disease (PD), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) and Parkinson's disease-mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI) are common. PD-MCI is a risk factor for developing PDD. Knowledge of cognition in early-stages PD is essential in understanding and predicting the dementia process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We describe the cognitive profile in early-stage PD patients with no prior clinical suspicion of cognitive impairment, depression or psychiatric disturbances, and investigate possible features distinguishing patients with cognitive deficits, defining a PD-MCI risk-profile. Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography (SPECT) DaT-scan and neurological examination confirmed the diagnosis. Mini-mental state examination-, Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale scoring, Hoehn &Yahr/Activity of Daily Living staging and a neuropsychological test battery were applied. Mild cognitive impairment patients were identified according to modified criteria by Troster necessarily omitting subjective cognitive complaints. 80 patients, mean age 61.0 years (SD 6.6), mean duration of disease 3.4 years (SD 1.2) were included. 76 patients were neuropsychologically tested. RESULTS: 26 (34%) patients fulfilled modified PD-MCI criteria, 18 (69%) of these showed episodic memory deficits, 14 (54%) executive dysfunction, 13 (50%) language/praxis deficits, 12 (46%) visuospatial/constructional deficits and 9 (35%) attention/working memory deficits. Cognitive impairment was associated with higher Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating scale (UPDRS)-, bradykinesia- and rigidity scores and more symmetric distribution of symptoms, but not tremor scores. Patients with cognitive impairment were less educated. Other demographic and clinical variables were comparable. CONCLUSIONS: 34% of early-stage PD patients without prior clinical suspicion of cognitive impairment exhibit cognitive impairment, which is associated to disease severity, especially bradykinesia, rigidity, axial symptoms and less asymmetry of motor symptoms, even at early disease stages and when cognitive symptoms are mild.

REM sleep behavior disorder and motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease--a longitudinal study.

OBJECTIVES: Longitudinal assessment of a Parkinson's disease (PD) cohort, to investigate the evolution or REM sleep behavior symptoms (RBD) over time and to test the relation between RBD at onset and motor dysfunction progression. METHODS: An early stage PD cohort (n = 61) was assessed at two time points, separated by a two years interval. Diagnostic criteria for RBD were: violent behavior during sleep and body movements or vocalization indicative of dream enacting and at least six affirmative answers in the REM sleep behavior disorder screening questionnaire. Motor function assessment was performed with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Scale part II and III (total and partial scores for tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, gait/postural instability and dysarthria). RESULTS: 25 Patients had RBD at baseline, vs. 35 at follow-up. Three RBD changed to non-RBD at follow-up, while 10 non-RBD patients developed RBD at follow-up (annual incidence of 12.5%). RBD and non-RBD patients did not differ significantly at baseline or follow-up. The presence of RBD at baseline was significantly related to an increase in UPDRS total and bradykinesia scores over time. DISCUSSION: RBD symptoms can vary over time and have a tendency to increase during the early stages of disease. The presence of RBD symptoms could be a risk factor for motor function deterioration and particularly for bradykinesia worsening.

Subjectively impaired bed mobility in Parkinson disease affects sleep efficiency.

BACKGROUND: Impaired bed mobility (IBM) may be an important reason for the high prevalence of sleep insomnia in Parkinson disease (PD). Here we assessed the influence of subjectively IBM on both subjective and objective sleep parameters in insomnia PD patients with (PD+IBM) and without (PD-IBM) concerns of IBM and controls with primary insomnia. METHODS: We included 44 PD patients with sleep initiation or maintenance concerns and 44 control subjects with primary insomnia. Sleep questionnaires, polysomnographic sleep parameters, activity data, and the number of body position changes were compared between PD patients and controls as well as within the PD group between PD+IBM vs PD-IBM subjects. RESULTS: There were 54.5% of PD subjects who reported having IBM. In the PD+IBM group, the number of body position changes was significantly lower than in PD-IBM (0.4/h [0.0-1.8] vs 1.4/h [0.0-4.6], P=.015). Sleep efficiency (SE) was lower in PD+IBM patients (63.5; 26.2-85.6) compared to PD-IBM patients (78.4; 54.8-92.6; P<.001). CONCLUSION: PD patients who report IBM have fewer sleep-related body position changes (i.e., nocturnal hypokinesia) than PD patients without such concerns. Furthermore, objective SE is significantly diminished in these patients.

Do symptoms of sluggish cognitive tempo in children with ADHD symptoms represent comorbid internalizing difficulties?

OBJECTIVE: Symptoms of sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) are correlated with inattention and internalizing difficulties. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether symptoms of SCT reflect comorbid internalizing disorder with ADHD or a separate syndrome. METHOD: Using a clinical sample of youth evaluated for behavioral and learning difficulties (N = 73), this study examined whether SCT remains associated with symptoms of ADHD after accounting for comorbid symptoms of anxiety and depression reported by children and parents. RESULTS: SCT symptoms were correlated with inattention and parent reports of child depression, but not with parent-reported anxiety or child reports of internalizing problems. Inattention (in the absence of hyperactivity/impulsivity) remained uniquely associated with SCT even after accounting for internalizing problems. CONCLUSION: The findings confirm SCT as a correlate of inattention and support its construct validity as separate from comorbid internalizing problems. Further research on the clinical utility of SCT is needed.

Gender differences in motor and non-motor symptoms among Sardinian patients with Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD) occurs more frequently in men than in women and a higher risk for PD development in males compared with females has been hypothesized, suggesting gender may be a significant factor in the development and progression of parkinsonism. To date, gender differences in non-motor symptoms are under-reported. OBJECTIVE: To assess gender differences in motor and non-motor symptoms among Sardinian PD patients. METHODS: One hundred fifty-six (91 male and 65 female) consecutive Sardinian PD outpatients were included in this analysis. Modified Hoehn and Yahr scale and UPDRS were used to assess motor symptoms, while non-motor disturbances were evaluated with the non-motor symptoms scale (NMSS). Presence of depression, anxiety and other iatrogenic behavioral disorders was also investigated. In order to determine how gender differences could be specific to PD, 132 age-matched normal controls were assessed with the NMSS. RESULTS: Women were more likely than men to present with tremor as initial symptom (p<.025) and worse UPDRS instability score (p<.02). NMSS score in females was significantly higher than that in males (p<.018). A significantly higher severity in cardiovascular (p<0.002), sleep/fatigue (p<.018) and mood/apathy (p<.001) domains was observed in female PD patients, while the sexual dysfunction domain was reported with a significantly higher score in male patients (p<.017). Fatigue (p<.03), lack of motivation (p<.015) and sadness (p<.009) were observed significantly more frequent in females, while altered interest in sex was noted as more common in males (p<.001). Frequency of depression (p<.011) and anxiety (p<.001) was significantly higher in females, while male patients had increased frequency of compulsive sexual behaviors (p<.05). There was a significantly higher frequency of non-motor symptoms in eight domains in both male and female PD patients compared with controls (p<.001, for all comparisons, with the exception of urinary disturbances in females: p<.004). Only sexual dysfunctions were not significantly higher in male and female PD patients compared with controls. DISCUSSION: The present study highlights the role of gender differences associated with the occurrence of motor and non-motor disorders and our findings indicate that spectrum and severity of non-motor symptoms may present with different gender distribution in PD patients, suggesting a possible sex-related effect.