Neuroimaging and serum biomarkers of neurodegeneration and neuroplasticity in Parkinson's disease patients treated by intermittent theta-burst stimulation over the bilateral primary motor area: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, crossover trial study.

Background and objectives: Intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) is a patterned form of excitatory transcranial magnetic stimulation that has yielded encouraging results as an adjunctive therapeutic option to alleviate the emergence of clinical deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Although it has been demonstrated that iTBS influences dopamine-dependent corticostriatal plasticity, little research has examined the neurobiological mechanisms underlying iTBS-induced clinical enhancement. Here, our primary goal is to verify whether iTBS bilaterally delivered over the primary motor cortex (M1) is effective as an add-on treatment at reducing scores for both motor functional impairment and nonmotor symptoms in PD. We hypothesize that these clinical improvements following bilateral M1-iTBS could be driven by endogenous dopamine release, which may rebalance cortical excitability and restore compensatory striatal volume changes, resulting in increased striato-cortico-cerebellar functional connectivity and positively impacting neuroglia and neuroplasticity. Methods: A total of 24 PD patients will be assessed in a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled crossover study involving the application of iTBS over the bilateral M1 (M1 iTBS). Patients on medication will be randomly assigned to receive real iTBS or control (sham) stimulation and will undergo 5 consecutive sessions (5 days) of iTBS over the bilateral M1 separated by a 3-month washout period. Motor evaluation will be performed at different follow-up visits along with a comprehensive neurocognitive assessment; evaluation of M1 excitability; combined structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resting-state electroencephalography and functional MRI; and serum biomarker quantification of neuroaxonal damage, astrocytic reactivity, and neural plasticity prior to and after iTBS. Discussion: The findings of this study will help to clarify the efficiency of M1 iTBS for the treatment of PD and further provide specific neurobiological insights into improvements in motor and nonmotor symptoms in these patients. This novel project aims to yield more detailed structural and functional brain evaluations than previous studies while using a noninvasive approach, with the potential to identify prognostic neuroprotective biomarkers and elucidate the structural and functional mechanisms of M1 iTBS-induced plasticity in the cortico-basal ganglia circuitry. Our approach may significantly optimize neuromodulation paradigms to ensure state-of-the-art and scalable rehabilitative treatment to alleviate motor and nonmotor symptoms of PD.

Safety and efficacy of intra-arterial bone marrow mononuclear cell transplantation in patients with acute ischaemic stroke in Spain (IBIS trial): a phase 2, randomised, open-label, standard-of-care controlled, multicentre trial.

BACKGROUND: Pilot clinical trials have shown the safety of intra-arterial bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) in stroke. However, the efficacy of different doses of intra-arterial BMMNCs in patients with acute stroke has not been tested in a randomised clinical trial. We aimed to show safety and efficacy of two different doses of autologous intra-arterial BMMNC transplantation in patients with acute stroke. METHODS: The IBIS trial was a multicentre phase 2, randomised, controlled, investigator-initiated, assessor-blinded, clinical trial, in four stroke centres in Spain. We included patients (aged 18-80 years) with a non-lacunar, middle cerebral artery ischaemic stroke within 1-7 days from stroke onset and with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 6-20. We randomly assigned patients (2:1:1) with a computer-generated randomisation sequence to standard of care (control group) or intra-arterial injection of autologous BMMNCs at one of two different doses (2 × 106 BMMNCs/kg or 5 × 106 BMMNCs/kg). The primary efficacy outcome was the proportion of patients with modified Rankin Scale scores of 0-2 at 180 days in the intention-to-treat population, comparing each BMMNC dose group and the pooled BMMNC group versus the control group. The primary safety endpoint was the proportion of serious adverse events. This trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02178657 and is completed. FINDINGS: Between April 1, 2015, and May 20, 2021, we assessed 114 patients for eligibility. We randomly assigned 77 (68%) patients: 38 (49%) to the control group, 20 (26%) to the low-dose BMMNC group, and 19 (25%) the high-dose BMMNC group. The mean age of participants was 62·4 years (SD 12·7), 46 (60%) were men, 31 (40%) were women, all were White, and 63 (82%) received thrombectomy. The median NIHSS score before randomisation was 12 (IQR 9-15), with intra-arterial BMMNC injection done a median of 6 days (4-7) after stroke onset. The primary efficacy outcome occurred in 14 (39%) patients in the control group versus ten (50%) in the low-dose group (adjusted odds ratio 2·08 [95% CI 0·55-7·85]; p=0·28), eight (44%) in the high-dose group (1·89 [0·52-6·96]; p=0·33), and 18 (47%) in the pooled BMMNC group (2·22 [0·72-6·85]; p=0·16). We found no differences in the proportion of patients who had adverse events or dose-related events, but two patients had a groin haematoma after cell injection in the low-dose BMMNC group. INTERPRETATION: Intra-arterial BMMNCs were safe in patients with acute ischaemic stroke, but we found no significant improvement at 180 days on the mRS. Further clinical trials are warranted to investigate whether improvements might be possible at different timepoints. FUNDING: Instituto de Salud Carlos III co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund/European Social Fund, Mutua Madrileña, and the Regional Ministry of Health of Andalusia.

Neuropsychological and Neuropsychiatric Features of Chronic Migraine Patients during the Interictal Phase.

This study aimed to examine the presence of neuropsychological deficits and their relationships with clinical, pharmacological, and neuropsychiatric characteristics in chronic migraine (CM) patients assessed during a headache-free period. We enrolled 39 CM patients (mean age: 45.4 years; male/female ratio: 3/36) and 20 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs, mean age: 45.5 years; male/female ratio: 2/18) in a case-control study. All CM patients underwent a full and extensive clinical, neuropsychiatric, and neuropsychological evaluation to evaluate cognitive domains, including sustained attention (SA), information processing speed (IPS), visuospatial episodic memory, working memory (WM), and verbal fluency (VF), as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms. CM patients exhibited higher scores than HCs for all clinical and neuropsychiatric measures, but no differences were found in personality characteristics. Although more than half of the CM patients (54%) showed mild-to-severe neuropsychological impairment (NI), with the most frequent impairments occurring in short- and long-term verbal episodic memory and inhibitory control (in approximately 90% of these patients), almost half of the patients (46%) showed no NI. Moreover, the severity of NI was positively associated with the number of pharmacological treatments received. Remarkably, disease-related symptom severity and headache-related disability explained global neuropsychological performance in CM patients. The presence of cognitive and neuropsychiatric dysfunction during the interictal phase occurred in more than half of CM patients, increasing migraine-related disability and possibly exerting a negative impact on health-related quality of life and treatment adherence.

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Clinically Defined Parkinson's Disease: An Updated Review of Literature.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are a common and potentially serious manifestation of Parkinson's disease (PD) but are frequently overlooked in favor of a focus on motor symptomatology. Here, we conducted a literature review of the prevalence and type of NPS experienced by PD patients with a clinically defined course of their illness. Methods: We identified reports of NPS in patients with PD and mean disease duration over 3 years. Three databases-PubMed, Scopus, and Dialnet-were searched for relevant literature published between 2010 and 2020. Predefined exclusion criteria were applied prior to a descriptive analysis of the literature base. Results: In all, 87 unique reports were identified and 30 met inclusion and exclusion criteria. These included 7142 patients with PD (male: 67.3%; mean age: 66.2 years; mean disease duration: 6.7 years). The most frequent NPS were mood disorders (apathy, depression, and anxiety), psychosis, and impulse control disorders (ICD). Treatment with dopamine agonists was identified as an important risk factor for ICD. Co-occurrence of NPS and cognitive dysfunction was also evidenced in a number of studies. Patients with more significant cognitive deficits and higher levels of NPS appeared to be of older age with a longer disease duration and to have more severe motor symptoms. Conclusions: NPS, most commonly mood disorders (apathy, depression, and anxiety), psychosis, and ICDs are frequent manifestations of PD. The results of this review reflect the need to develop unified validated assessment protocols for NPS in PD, as well as to improve their management in clinical practice.

Subthalamic Beta Activity in Parkinson's Disease May Be Linked to Dorsal Striatum Gray Matter Volume and Prefrontal Cortical Thickness: A Pilot Study.

Background: Excessive oscillations at beta frequencies (13-35 Hz) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) represent a pathophysiological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD), which correlates well with parkinsonian symptoms and is reduced in response to standard disease treatments. However, the association of disease-specific regional gray matter (GM) atrophy or cortical thickness (CT) with the presence of STN beta oscillatory activity has been poorly investigated but is of relevance given the potential of these variables for extracting information about PD pathophysiology. This exploratory study investigated the involvement of regional GM volume and CT in the basal ganglia-cortical network and its potential association with the presence of STN beta oscillatory activity in PD. Methods: We acquired preoperative GM densities on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans and we carried out regional estimation of GM volume and CT. LFP activities from the STN were recorded post-operatively in 7 cognitively preserved PD patients off dopaminergic medication undergoing deep-brain stimulation surgery. Oscillatory beta power was determined by power spectral density of 4-min resting state STN LFP activity. Spearman partial correlations and regression analysis were used to screen the presence of STN beta power for their relationship with GM volume and CT measurements. Results: After controlling for the effects of age, educational level, and disease duration, and after correcting for multiple testing, enhanced STN beta power showed significant and negative correlations between, first, volume of the right putamen and left caudate nucleus, and second, smaller CT in frontal regions involving the left rostral middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and left medial orbitofrontal gyrus. A lower volume in the right putamen and a lower CT in the left MFG demonstrated the strongest associations with increased STN beta power. Conclusions: These tentative results seem to suggest that STN LFP beta frequencies may be mainly linked to different but ongoing parallel neurodegenerative processes, on the one hand, to GM volume reduction in dorsal striatum, and on the other hand, to CT reduction of prefrontal-"associative" regions. These findings could further delineate the brain structural interactions underpinning the exaggerated STN beta activity commonly observed in PD patients.

Cortical Thickness and Serum NfL Explain Cognitive Dysfunction in Newly Diagnosed Patients With Multiple Sclerosis.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To determine the relative importance of global or regional MRI and blood markers of neurodegeneration and neuroaxonal injury in predicting cognitive performance for recently diagnosed patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). METHODS: Thirty-five newly diagnosed patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and 23 healthy controls (HCs) simultaneously completed a full clinical and neuropsychological assessment, structural brain MRI, and serum neurofilament light chain (sNfL) level test. Linear regression analyses were performed to determine which global or regional measures of gray matter (GM) atrophy and cortical thickness (CT), in combination with sNfL levels and clinical scores, are most strongly related to neuropsychological impairment. RESULTS: Compared with HCs, patients with MS showed bilateral thalamic GM atrophy (left, p = 0.033; right, p = 0.047) and diminished CT, particularly in the right superior and transverse temporal gyri (p = 0.045; p = 0.037). Regional atrophy failed to add predictive variance, whereas anxiety symptoms, sNfL, and global CT were the best predictors (R2 = 0.404; p < 0.001) of cognitive outcomes, with temporal thickness accounting for greater variance in cognitive deficits than global CT. DISCUSSION: Thalamic GM atrophy and thinning in temporal regions represent a distinctive MRI trait in the early stages of MS. Although sNfL levels alone do not clearly differentiate HCs and patients with RRMS, in combination with global and regional CT, sNfL levels can better explain the presence of underlying cognitive deficits. Hence, cortical thinning and sNfL increases can be considered 2 parallel neurodegenerative markers in the pathogenesis of progression in newly diagnosed patients with MS.

Potential risk of disease modifying therapies on neoplasm development and coadjutant factors in multiple sclerosis outpatients.

Neoplasm development in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients treated with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) has been widely discussed. The aim of this work is to determine neoplasm frequency, relationship with the prescription pattern of DMTs, and influence of the patients' baseline characteristics. Data from 250 MS outpatients were collected during the period 1981-2019 from the medical records of the Neurology Service of the HUPM (Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar)-in Southern Spain-and analysed using Cox models. Neoplasm prevalence was 24%, mainly located on the skin, with cancer prevalence as expected for MS (6.8%). Latency period from MS onset to neoplasm diagnosis was 10.4 ± 6.9 years (median 9.30 [0.9-30.5]). During the observation period ß-IFN (70.4% of patients), glatiramer acetate (30.4%), natalizumab (16.8%), fingolimod (24.8%), dimethyl fumarate (24.0%), alemtuzumab (6.0%), and teriflunomide (4.8%) were administered as monotherapy. Change of pattern in step therapy was significantly different in cancer patients vs unaffected individuals (p = 0.011) (29.4% did not receive DMTs [p = 0.000]). Extended Cox model: Smoking (HR = 3.938, CI 95% 1.392-11.140, p = 0.010), being female (HR = 2.006, 1.070-3.760, p = 0.030), and age at MS diagnosis (AGE-DG) (HR = 1.036, 1.012-1.061, p = 0.004) were risk factors for neoplasm development. Secondary progressive MS (SPMS) phenotype (HR = 0.179, 0.042-0.764, p = 0.020) and treatment-time with IFN (HR = 0.923, 0.873-0.977, p = 0.006) or DMF (HR = 0.725, 0.507-1.036, p = 0.077) were protective factors. Tobacco and IFN lost their negative/positive influence as survival time increased. Cox PH model: Tobacco/AGE-DG interaction was a risk factor for cancer (HR = 1.099, 1.001-1.208, p = 0.049), followed by FLM treatment-time (HR = 1.219, 0.979-1.517). In conclusion, smoking, female sex, and AGE-DG were risk factors, and SPMS and IFN treatment-time were protective factors for neoplasm development; smoking/AGE-DG interaction was the main cancer risk factor.

Mutational spectrum of GNAL, THAP1 and TOR1A genes in isolated dystonia: study in a population from Spain and systematic literature review.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of TOR1A, GNAL and THAP1 variants as the cause of dystonia in a cohort of Spanish patients with isolated dystonia and in the literature. METHODS: A population of 2028 subjects (including 1053 patients with different subtypes of isolated dystonia and 975 healthy controls) from southern and central Spain was included. The genes TOR1A, THAP1 and GNAL were screened using a combination of high-resolution melting analysis and direct DNA resequencing. In addition, an extensive literature search to identify original articles (published before 10 August 2020) reporting mutations in TOR1A, THAP1 or GNAL associated to dystonia was performed. RESULTS: Pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants in TOR1A, THAP1 and GNAL were identified in 0.48%, 0.57% and 0.29% of our patients, respectively. Five patients carried the variation p.Glu303del in TOR1A. A very rare variant in GNAL (p.Ser238Asn) was found as a putative risk factor for dystonia. In the literature, variations in TOR1A, THAP1 and GNAL accounted for about 6%, 1.8% and 1.1% of published dystonia patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There is a different genetic contribution to dystonia of these three genes in our patients (about 1.3% of patients) and in the literature (about 3.6% of patients), probably due the high proportion of adult-onset cases in our cohort. As regards age at onset, site of dystonia onset, and final distribution, in our population there is a clear differentiation between DYT-TOR1A and DYT-GNAL, with DYT-THAP1 likely to be an intermediate phenotype.

Predicting Neuropsychological Impairment in Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: The Role of Clinical Measures, Treatment, and Neuropsychiatry Symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective observational study aimed to define neuropsychological impairment (NI) profiles and determine the influence of clinical, demographic, and neuropsychiatric measures in specific cognitive domains in a cohort of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients. METHODS: Ninety-one RRMS patients underwent a neurological examination and a brief neuropsychological assessment. Patients were classified according to the disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) received (platform or high-efficacy). Differences between groups and multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the predictive value of the assessed measures in cognitive performance. RESULTS: More than two-thirds of the patients showed NI. Specifically, mild to moderate NI was presented in approximately half of the participants. Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT-3) and Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) were the most frequently impaired cognitive tests (45.3% and 41.3%, respectively) followed by phonemic verbal fluency (PVF) (27.8%). Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS), age, depressive symptoms, and disease duration were the best predictors of SDMT (R2 = .34; p < .01), whereas disease duration, EDSS, and anxiety-state levels predicted PASAT-3 (R2 = .33, p < .01). Educational level, age, EDSS, and depressive symptoms demonstrated the strongest association with PVF (R2 = .31, p < .01). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated a significant prevalence of NI in RRMS patients that was not dependent on the DMT type. In addition to the meaningful working memory (PASAT-3) and information processing speed (SDMT) impairments found, PVF deficits may also be an important marker of cognitive impairment in RRMS patients. This study supports the relevance of standard clinical measures and reinforces the importance of quantifying clinical and neuropsychiatric symptoms to predict subsequent cognitive performance on a similar multiple sclerosis phenotype and disease stage.

Resolution of inverse psoriasis after treatment with levodopa for Parkinson's disease.

Inverse psoriasis is characterized by the development of erythematous shiny plaques at intertriginous areas of the body. It has a prevalence of 2% worldwide. The usefulness of levodopa in psoriasis was discovered in 1970 but nowadays it is not a standard therapy for this condition. A 74-year-old woman was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease subsequent to the development of extensive inverse psoriasis. The skin lesions were resistant to classical topical and systemic medications. Treatment with levodopa was initiated in order to treat her neurological problem and progressive remission of the skin lesions was noted. We highlight the role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of this dermatosis.

Variabilidad en la presentación clínica en la enfermedad de Pompe: evolución tras terapia de reemplazo enzimático / Variability in the clinical presentation of Pompe disease: development following enzyme replacement therapy

Introducción. La enfermedad de Pompe es un trastorno generalizado progresivo producido por el déficit de la enzima alfaglucosidasa ácida (AGA) de los lisosomas. Se presentan tres casos manifestados de forma muy diferente y tratados con terapia enzimática sustitutiva (TES), con evolución favorable. Casos clínicos. Caso 1: varón de 3 meses, con debilidad y rechazo de la alimentación, hepatomegalia leve, ligera macroglosia e hipotonía, y aumento de las enzimas musculares. Caso 2: varón de 5 meses, con retraso del desarrollo motor, sordera neurosensorial grave, trastornos respiratorios de repetición de evolución tórpida, hipotonía y leve elevación de la creatincinasa. Caso 3: varón de 22 años con disnea progresiva, con antecedentes de elevación de la creatincinasa y las transaminasas, e hipercolesterolemia. Sufrió insuficiencia respiratoria grave que precisó intubación endotraqueal. La biopsia muscular presentó depósitos de glucógeno sugestivos de la enfermedad. En los tres casos, el estudio electromiográfico dio un patrón característico, con descargas pseudomiotónicas, y se confirmó el déficit de AGA en los linfocitos. Se encontró una mutación en un caso y dos mutaciones en los otros dos. Todos recibieron TES con evolución favorable: desaparición de las alteraciones cardíacas en el caso 1, mejoría en los hitos motores en los dos casos infantiles y retirada del respirador en el caso 3. Conclusión. La enfermedad de Pompe tiene una amplia variabilidad en la expresión clínica. La TES consigue una buena respuesta, especialmente en las formas infantiles. La supervivencia a largo plazo de las formas infantiles tratadas permitirá conocer más aspectos del curso de la enfermedad (AU)

Introduction. Pompe disease is a generalized progressive disease caused by a deficiency of the lysosome enzyme acid alphaglucosidase (GAA). We present three cases with different clinical symptomatology and treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with positive evolution. Case reports. Case 1: three-month old male, with weakness and rejecting meals; mild hepatomegaly, discrete macroglossia and muscular hypotony; and increased muscular enzymes. Case 2: five-month old male, with delayed motor development, severe neurosensory deafness, and respiratory disorder of difficult evolution; muscular hypotony; and mild increase in creatine kinase. Case 3: 22-year old male, with progressive dyspnea, with history of increased creatine kinase and transaminases, and hypercholesterolemia. He suffered from severe respiratory failure requiring endotraqueal intubation Muscular biopsy showed glycogen storage suggestive of Pompe disease. In the three cases, the EMG showed a characteristic pattern with pseudomyotonic discharges and the deficiency in GAA was confirmed in lymphocytes. One single mutation was observed in one case and two in the other two cases. Every patient received ERT showing a favorable evolution; with disappearance of cardiac disorders in case 1, improvement in motor development in both infants and no longer need for mechanical ventilation in case 3. Conclusion. Pompe disease has a wide variability in clinical expression. ERT achieves a good response, especially in infant forms of the disease. The survival of treated patients with these Pompe disease forms will allow knowing further the course of the disease (AU)

[Variability in the clinical presentation of Pompe disease: development following enzyme replacement therapy]. / Variabilidad en la presentación clínica en la enfermedad de Pompe: evolución tras terapia de reemplazo enzimático.

INTRODUCTION: Pompe disease is a generalized progressive disease caused by a deficiency of the lysosome enzyme acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). We present three cases with different clinical symptomatology and treated with enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with positive evolution. CASE REPORTS: Case 1: three-month old male, with weakness and rejecting meals; mild hepatomegaly, discrete macroglossia and muscular hypotony; and increased muscular enzymes. Case 2: five-month old male, with delayed motor development, severe neurosensory deafness, and respiratory disorder of difficult evolution; muscular hypotony; and mild increase in creatine kinase. Case 3: 22-year old male, with progressive dyspnea, with history of increased creatine kinase and transaminases, and hypercholesterolemia. He suffered from severe respiratory failure requiring endotraqueal intubation Muscular biopsy showed glycogen storage suggestive of Pompe disease. In the three cases, the EMG showed a characteristic pattern with pseudomyotonic discharges and the deficiency in GAA was confirmed in lymphocytes. One single mutation was observed in one case and two in the other two cases. Every patient received ERT showing a favorable evolution; with disappearance of cardiac disorders in case 1, improvement in motor development in both infants and no longer need for mechanical ventilation in case 3. CONCLUSION: Pompe disease has a wide variability in clinical expression. ERT achieves a good response, especially in infant forms of the disease. The survival of treated patients with these Pompe disease forms will allow knowing further the course of the disease.

TITLE: Variabilidad en la presentacion clinica en la enfermedad de Pompe: evolucion tras terapia de reemplazo enzimatico.Introduccion. La enfermedad de Pompe es un trastorno generalizado progresivo producido por el deficit de la enzima alfa-glucosidasa acida (AGA) de los lisosomas. Se presentan tres casos manifestados de forma muy diferente y tratados con terapia enzimatica sustitutiva (TES), con evolucion favorable. Casos clinicos. Caso 1: varon de 3 meses, con debilidad y rechazo de la alimentacion, hepatomegalia leve, ligera macroglosia e hipotonia, y aumento de las enzimas musculares. Caso 2: varon de 5 meses, con retraso del desarrollo motor, sordera neurosensorial grave, trastornos respiratorios de repeticion de evolucion torpida, hipotonia y leve elevacion de la creatincinasa. Caso 3: varon de 22 años con disnea progresiva, con antecedentes de elevacion de la creatincinasa y las transaminasas, e hipercolesterolemia. Sufrio insuficiencia respiratoria grave que preciso intubacion endotraqueal. La biopsia muscular presento depositos de glucogeno sugestivos de la enfermedad. En los tres casos, el estudio electromiografico dio un patron caracteristico, con descargas pseudomiotonicas, y se confirmo el deficit de AGA en los linfocitos. Se encontro una mutacion en un caso y dos mutaciones en los otros dos. Todos recibieron TES con evolucion favorable: desaparicion de las alteraciones cardiacas en el caso 1, mejoria en los hitos motores en los dos casos infantiles y retirada del respirador en el caso 3. Conclusion. La enfermedad de Pompe tiene una amplia variabilidad en la expresion clinica. La TES consigue una buena respuesta, especialmente en las formas infantiles. La supervivencia a largo plazo de las formas infantiles tratadas permitira conocer mas aspectos del curso de la enfermedad.

Lack of validation of variants associated with cervical dystonia risk: a GWAS replication study.

BACKGROUND: A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) has identified a putative association, not statistically confirmed, of cervical dystonia within several regions in a British population. Hence, the authors proposed dysfunction of the ion channel NALCN (for sodium leak channel, nonselective) as a plausible cause of cervical dystonia. The objective of our study was to investigate the association of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously reported with high signals as putative genetic risk factors for cervical dystonia in a British GWAS, including two located in the NALCN gene region. METHODS: We performed a case-control association study in a Spanish population. The SNPs selected for genotyping were two SNPS in the NALCN gene (rs61973742 and rs1338041), one SNP in the OR4X2 gene (rs67863238), one SNP in the COL4A1 region (rs619152), and one intergenic SNP (rs1249277). Genomic DNA was collected from 252 patients with cervical dystonia, with a mean age of 55.3 ± 14.1 years (mean age at onset, 43.5 ± 15.7 years), and 342 unrelated control subjects with a mean age of 56.3 ± 14.3 years. Genotyping of SNPs was performed using TaqMan assays and SimpleProbe assays. RESULTS: The SNP rs619152 had to be excluded because of assay failure. No significant differences were found in allele distribution between cases and controls for all analyzed SNPs. Therefore, we found no association with cervical dystonia for the analyzed SNPs in our Spanish population. CONCLUSIONS: We did not find any evidence supporting the association of NALCN with cervical dystonia, indicating that this gene is not implicated in the pathogenesis of this disorder in our cervical dystonia population.

BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in primary adult-onset dystonia: a case-control study and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: A polymorphism in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) (Val66Met) has been reported as a risk factor in primary dystonia. However, overall the results have been inconclusive. Our aim was to clarify the association of Val66Met with primary dystonia, and with the most prevalent clinical subtypes, cervical dystonia and blepharospasm. METHODS: We conducted a Spanish multicenter case-control study (including 680 primary dystonia patients and 788 healthy controls) and performed a meta-analysis integrating our study and six previously published studies (including a total of 1,936 primary dystonia patients and 2,519 healthy controls). RESULTS: We found no allelic or genotypic association with primary dystonia, cervical dystonia, or blepharospasm risks, for the allele A (Met) from a BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in our case-control study. This was confirmed by results from our meta-analysis in white and mixed ethnic populations in any genetic model. CONCLUSION: We did not find any evidence supporting the association of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism with primary dystonia.

Sneddon syndrome presenting with unilateral third cranial nerve palsy.

Sneddon syndrome is a rare systemic vasculopathy affecting the skin as livedo racemosa and the central nervous system as stroke. A 31-year-old man with a history of livedo racemosa presented with a partial left third nerve palsy. Skin biopsy showed signs of endotheliitis with obliteration of dermal blood vessels due to intimal proliferation and fibrin thrombi consistent with Sneddon syndrome. The patient was treated with platelet antiaggregant therapy with complete resolution of his third nerve palsy. Clinicians should be aware of Sneddon syndrome because prompt diagnosis and treatment may prevent potential morbidity and mortality.