Predicting motor, cognitive & functional impairment in Parkinson's.

OBJECTIVE: We recently demonstrated that 998 features derived from a simple 7-minute smartphone test could distinguish between controls, people with Parkinson's and people with idiopathic Rapid Eye Movement sleep behavior disorder, with mean sensitivity/specificity values of 84.6-91.9%. Here, we investigate whether the same smartphone features can be used to predict future clinically relevant outcomes in early Parkinson's. METHODS: A total of 237 participants with Parkinson's (mean (SD) disease duration 3.5 (2.2) years) in the Oxford Discovery cohort performed smartphone tests in clinic and at home. Each test assessed voice, balance, gait, reaction time, dexterity, rest, and postural tremor. In addition, standard motor, cognitive and functional assessments and questionnaires were administered in clinic. Machine learning algorithms were trained to predict the onset of clinical outcomes provided at the next 18-month follow-up visit using baseline smartphone recordings alone. The accuracy of model predictions was assessed using 10-fold and subject-wise cross validation schemes. RESULTS: Baseline smartphone tests predicted the new onset of falls, freezing, postural instability, cognitive impairment, and functional impairment at 18 months. For all outcome predictions AUC values were greater than 0.90 for 10-fold cross validation using all smartphone features. Using only the 30 most salient features, AUC values greater than 0.75 were obtained. INTERPRETATION: We demonstrate the ability to predict key future clinical outcomes using a simple smartphone test. This work has the potential to introduce individualized predictions to routine care, helping to target interventions to those most likely to benefit, with the aim of improving their outcome.

Impulse control disorders in Parkinson disease and RBD: A longitudinal study of severity.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the prevalence, natural history, and risk factors for impulse control behaviors (ICBs) among people with Parkinson disease (PD), those with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), and controls. METHODS: Participants with early PD (within 3.5 years of diagnosis), those with RBD, and controls were clinically phenotyped and screened for ICBs longitudinally (with the Questionnaire for Impulsivity in Parkinson's Disease). ICB-positive individuals were invited for a semistructured interview, repeated 1 year later. The severity of the ICB was assessed with the Parkinson's Impulse Control Scale. Multiple imputation and regression models were used to estimate ICB prevalence and associations. RESULTS: Data from 921 cases of PD at baseline, 768 cases at 18 months, and 531 cases at 36 months were included, with 21% to 25% screening positive for ICBs at each visit. Interviews of ICB screen-positive individuals revealed that 10% met formal criteria for impulse control disorders (ICD), while 33% had subsyndromal ICD (ICB symptoms without reaching the formal diagnostic criteria for ICD). When these data were combined through the use of multiple imputation, the prevalence of PD-ICB was estimated at 19.1% (95% confidence interval 10.1-28.2). On follow-up, 24% of cases of subsyndromal ICD had developed full symptoms of an ICD. PD-ICD was associated with dopamine agonist use, motor complications, and apathy but not PD-RBD. ICD prevalence in the RBD group (1%) was similar to that in controls (0.7%). CONCLUSIONS: ICBs occur in 19.1% of patients with early PD, many persisting or worsening over time. RBD is not associated with increased ICD risk. Psychosocial drivers, including mood and support networks, affect severity.

Predictors of motor complications in early Parkinson's disease: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to identify clinical predictors of motor complications (dyskinesia and motor fluctuations) of levodopa in a prospectively recruited PD cohort using longitudinal analysis. METHODS: An inception cohort (Oxford Discovery) of 734 patients was followed to a maximum of 10 years from diagnosis using a discrete-time survival analysis. A subset analysis was used to validate an online dyskinesia-risk calculator developed from the results of the Stalevo Reduction in Dyskinesia Evaluation PD trial. RESULTS: A total of 186 cases of dyskinesia and 254 cases of motor fluctuations were observed. Dyskinesia incidence increased with time (risk per 100 participants [95% confidence interval] 13 [11-16] <3.5 years, 16 [13-21] 3.5-5.0 years, 19 [14-26] 5-6.5 years, and 23 [16-33] >6.5 years from diagnosis). Motor complication predictors were grouped as medication predictors, disease predictors and patient predictors. Baseline nonmotor feature severity, low mood, anxiety, and age at symptom onset were associated with motor complications among a number of previously identified predictors. Replication of the Stalevo Reduction in Dyskinesia Evaluation PD calculator was reasonable with the area under the curve for dyskinesia risk score as a predictor of dyskinesia being 0.68 (95% confidence interval, 0.55-0.81). CONCLUSIONS: This study quantifies risk of motor complications, finds consistent predictors, and demonstrates the novel finding that nonmotor features of PD, particularly low mood and anxiety, are significant risk factors for motor complications. Further validation of dyskinesia risk scores are required as well as evidence to determine if the routine use of such scores can be clinically valuable in enhancing patient care and quality of life. © 2019 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and increased glycolysis in prodromal and early Parkinson's blood cells.

BACKGROUND: Although primarily a neurodegenerative process, there is increasing awareness of peripheral disease mechanisms in Parkinson's disease. To investigate disease processes in accessible patient cells, we studied peripheral blood mononuclear cells in recently diagnosed PD patients and rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder patients who have a greatly increased risk of developing PD. We hypothesized that peripheral blood mononuclear cells may recapitulate cellular pathology found in the PD brain and investigated these cells for mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. METHODS: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and studied from PD patients, rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder patients and age- and sex-matched control individuals from the well-characterized Oxford Discovery cohort. All participants underwent thorough clinical assessment. RESULTS: Initial characterization showed that PD patients had elevated levels of CD14 + monocytes and monocytes expressing C-C motif chemokine receptor 2. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress were increased in PD patient peripheral blood mononuclear cells, with elevated levels of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species specifically in patient monocytes. This was combined with reduced levels of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase in blood cells from PD patients and, importantly, also in rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder patients. This mitochondrial dysfunction was associated with a concomitant increase in glycolysis in both PD and rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder patient blood cells independent of glucose uptake or monocyte activation. CONCLUSIONS: This work demonstrates functional bioenergetic deficits in PD and rapid eye movement-sleep behavior disorder patient blood cells during the early stages of human disease. © 2018 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Smartphone motor testing to distinguish idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder, controls, and PD.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to identify motor features that would allow the delineation of individuals with sleep study-confirmed idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder (iRBD) from controls and Parkinson disease (PD) using a customized smartphone application. METHODS: A total of 334 PD, 104 iRBD, and 84 control participants performed 7 tasks to evaluate voice, balance, gait, finger tapping, reaction time, rest tremor, and postural tremor. Smartphone recordings were collected both in clinic and at home under noncontrolled conditions over several days. All participants underwent detailed parallel in-clinic assessments. Using only the smartphone sensor recordings, we sought to (1) discriminate whether the participant had iRBD or PD and (2) identify which of the above 7 motor tasks were most salient in distinguishing groups. RESULTS: Statistically significant differences based on these 7 tasks were observed between the 3 groups. For the 3 pairwise discriminatory comparisons, (1) controls vs iRBD, (2) controls vs PD, and (3) iRBD vs PD, the mean sensitivity and specificity values ranged from 84.6% to 91.9%. Postural tremor, rest tremor, and voice were the most discriminatory tasks overall, whereas the reaction time was least discriminatory. CONCLUSIONS: Prodromal forms of PD include the sleep disorder iRBD, where subtle motor impairment can be detected using clinician-based rating scales (e.g., Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale), which may lack the sensitivity to detect and track granular change. Consumer grade smartphones can be used to accurately separate not only iRBD from controls but also iRBD from PD participants, providing a growing consensus for the utility of digital biomarkers in early and prodromal PD.

Prodromal Parkinsonism and Neurodegenerative Risk Stratification in REM Sleep Behavior Disorder.

Objectives: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder (RBD) is the most specific marker of prodromal alpha-synucleinopathies. We sought to delineate the baseline clinical characteristics of RBD and evaluate risk stratification models. Methods: Clinical assessments were performed in 171 RBD, 296 control, and 119 untreated Parkinson's (PD) participants. Putative risk measures were assessed as predictors of prodromal neurodegeneration, and Movement Disorders Society (MDS) criteria for prodromal PD were applied. Participants were screened for common leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2)/glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA) gene mutations. Results: Compared to controls, participants with RBD had higher rates of solvent exposure, head injury, smoking, obesity, and antidepressant use. GBA mutations were more common in RBD, but no LRRK2 mutations were found. RBD participants performed significantly worse than controls on Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)-III, timed "get-up-and-go", Flamingo test, Sniffin Sticks, and cognitive tests and had worse measures of constipation, quality of life (QOL), and orthostatic hypotension. For all these measures except UPDRS-III, RBD and PD participants were equally impaired. Depression, anxiety, and apathy were worse in RBD compared to PD participants. Stratification of people with RBD according to antidepressant use, obesity, and age altered the odds ratio (OR) of hyposmia compared to controls from 3.4 to 45.5. 74% (95% confidence interval [CI] 66%, 80%) of RBD participants met the MDS criteria for probable prodromal Parkinson's compared to 0.3% (95% CI 0.009%, 2%) of controls. Conclusions: RBD are impaired across a range of clinical measures consistent with prodromal PD and suggestive of a more severe nonmotor subtype. Clinical risk stratification has the potential to select higher risk patients for neuroprotective interventions.

Personality and addictive behaviours in early Parkinson's disease and REM sleep behaviour disorder.

INTRODUCTION: Changes in personality have been described in Parkinson's disease (PD), with suggestion that those with established disease tend to be risk averse with a disinclination for addictive behaviour. However, little is known about the earliest and prodromal stages. Personality and its relationship with addictive behaviours can help answer important questions about the mechanisms underlying PD and addiction. METHODS: 941 population-ascertained PD subjects within 3.5 years of diagnosis, 128 patients with rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder (RBD) and 292 control subjects were fully characterised for motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms and across the following 5 personality domains: 1) neuroticism 2) extraversion 3) conscientiousness 4) agreeableness 5) openness using the Big Five Inventory. RESULTS: Patients with early PD were more neurotic (p < 0.001), less extraverted (p < 0.001) and less open than controls (p < 0.001). RBD subjects showed the same pattern of being more neurotic (p < 0.001), less extraverted (p = 0.03) and less open (p < 0.001). PD patients had smoked less (p = 0.02) and drunk less alcohol (p = 0.03) than controls, but caffeine beverage consumption was similar. Being more extraverted (p < 0.001), more open (p < 0.001), and less neurotic (p < 0.001) predicted higher alcohol use, while being more extravert (p = 0.007) and less agreeable (p < 0.001) was associated with smoking more. CONCLUSIONS: A similar pattern of personality changes is seen in PD and RBD compared to a control population. Personality characteristics were associated with addictive behaviours, suggestive of a common link, but the lower rates of addictive behaviours before and after the onset of motor symptoms in PD persisted after accounting for personality.

Alpha-synuclein RT-QuIC in the CSF of patients with alpha-synucleinopathies.

We have developed a novel real-time quaking-induced conversion RT-QuIC-based assay to detect alpha-synuclein aggregation in brain and cerebrospinal fluid from dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease patients. This assay can detect alpha-synuclein aggregation in Dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson's disease cerebrospinal fluid with sensitivities of 92% and 95%, respectively, and with an overall specificity of 100% when compared to Alzheimer and control cerebrospinal fluid. Patients with neuropathologically confirmed tauopathies (progressive supranuclear palsy; corticobasal degeneration) gave negative results. These results suggest that RT-QuiC analysis of cerebrospinal fluid is potentially useful for the early clinical assessment of patients with alpha-synucleinopathies.

Equating scores of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test and Sniffin' Sticks test in patients with Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Impaired olfaction is an important feature in Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurological diseases. A variety of smell identification tests exist such as "Sniffin' Sticks" and the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). An important part of research is being able to replicate findings or combining studies in a meta-analysis. This is difficult if olfaction has been measured using different metrics. We present conversion methods between the: UPSIT, Sniffin' 16, and Brief-SIT (B-SIT); and Sniffin' 12 and Sniffin' 16 odour identification tests. METHODS: We used two incident cohorts of patients with PD who were tested with either the Sniffin' 16 (n = 1131) or UPSIT (n = 980) and a validation dataset of 128 individuals who took both tests. We used the equipercentile and Item Response Theory (IRT) methods to equate the olfaction scales. RESULTS: The equipercentile conversion suggested some bias between UPSIT and Sniffin' 16 tests across the two groups. The IRT method shows very good characteristics between the true and converted Sniffin' 16 (delta mean = 0.14, median = 0) based on UPSIT. The equipercentile conversion between the Sniffin' 12 and 16 item worked well (delta mean = 0.01, median = 0). The UPSIT to B-SIT conversion showed evidence of bias but amongst PD cases worked well (mean delta = -0.08, median = 0). CONCLUSION: We have demonstrated that one can convert UPSIT to B-SIT or Sniffin' 16, and Sniffin' 12 to 16 scores in a valid way. This can facilitate direct comparison between tests aiding future collaborative analyses and evidence synthesis.

Statins are underused in recent-onset Parkinson's disease with increased vascular risk: findings from the UK Tracking Parkinson's and Oxford Parkinson's Disease Centre (OPDC) discovery cohorts.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) influences phenotypic variation in Parkinson's disease (PD), and is usually an indication for statin therapy. It is less clear whether cardiovascular risk factors influence PD phenotype, and if statins are prescribed appropriately. OBJECTIVES: To quantify vascular risk and statin use in recent-onset PD, and examine the relationship between vascular risk, PD severity and phenotype. METHODS: Cardiovascular risk was quantified using the QRISK2 calculator (high ≥20%, medium ≥10 and <20%, low risk <10%). Motor severity and phenotype were assessed using the Movement Disorder Society Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS) and cognition by the Montreal cognitive assessment. RESULTS: In 2909 individuals with recent-onset PD, the mean age was 67.5 years (SD 9.3), 63.5% were men and the mean disease duration was 1.3 years (SD 0.9). 33.8% of cases had high vascular risk, 28.7% medium risk, and 22.3% low risk, while 15.2% of cases had established CVD. Increasing vascular risk and CVD were associated with older age (p<0.001), worse motor score (p<0.001), more cognitive impairment (p<0.001) and worse motor phenotype (p=0.021). Statins were prescribed in 37.2% with high vascular risk, 15.1% with medium vascular risk and 6.5% with low vascular risk, which compared with statin usage in 75.3% of those with CVD. CONCLUSIONS: Over 60% of recent-onset PD patients have high or medium cardiovascular risk (meriting statin usage), which is associated with a worse motor and cognitive phenotype. Statins are underused in these patients, compared with those with vascular disease, which is a missed opportunity for preventive treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: GN11NE062, NCT02881099.

Gut Feelings About α-Synuclein in Gastrointestinal Biopsies: Biomarker in the Making?

In recent years, several studies have investigated the potential of immunohistochemical detection of α-synuclein in the gastrointestinal tract to diagnose Parkinson's disease (PD). Although methodological heterogeneity has hindered comparability between studies, it has become increasingly apparent that the high sensitivity and specificity reported in preliminary studies has not been sustained in subsequent large-scale studies. What constitutes pathological α-synuclein in the alimentary canal that could distinguish between PD patients and controls and how this can be reliably detected represent key outstanding questions in the field. In this review, we will comment on and compare the variable technical aspects from previous studies, and by highlighting some advantages and shortcomings we hope to delineate a standardized approach to facilitate the consensus criteria urgently needed in the field. Furthermore, we will describe alternative detection techniques to conventional immunohistochemistry that have recently emerged and may facilitate ease of interpretation and reliability of gastrointestinal α-synuclein detection. Such techniques have the potential to detect the presence of pathological α-synuclein and include the paraffin-embedded tissue blot, the proximity ligation assay, the protein misfolding cyclic amplification technique, and the real-time quaking-induced conversion assay. Finally, we will review 2 nonsynonymous theories that have driven enteric α-synuclein research, namely, (1) that α-synuclein propagates in a prion-like fashion from the peripheral nervous system to the brain via vagal connections and (2) that gastrointestinal α-synuclein deposition may be used as a clinically useful biomarker in PD.

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.

Delineating nonmotor symptoms in early Parkinson's disease and first-degree relatives.

Nonmotor symptoms (NMS) are an important prodromal feature of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, their frequency, treatment rates, and impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the early motor phase is unclear. Rates of NMS in enriched at-risk populations, such as first-degree PD relatives, have not been delineated. We assessed NMS in an early cohort of PD, first-degree PD relatives and control subjects to address these questions. In total, 769 population-ascertained PD subjects within 3.5 years of diagnosis, 98 first-degree PD relatives, and 287 control subjects were assessed at baseline across the following NMS domains: (1) neuropsychiatric; (2) gastrointestinal; (3) sleep; (4) sensory; (5) autonomic; and (6) sexual. NMS were much more common in PD, compared to control subjects. More than half of the PD cases had hyposmia, pain, fatigue, sleep disturbance, or urinary dysfunction. NMS were more frequent in those with the postural instability gait difficulty phenotype, compared to the tremor dominant (mean total number of NMS 7.8 vs. 6.2; P < 0.001). PD cases had worse HRQoL scores than controls (odds ratio: 4.1; P < 0.001), with depression, anxiety, and pain being stronger drivers than motor scores. NMS were rarely treated in routine clinical practice. First-degree PD relatives did not significantly differ in NMS, compared to controls, in this baseline study. NMS are common in early PD and more common in those with postural instability gait difficulty phenotype or on treatment. Despite their major impact on quality of life, NMS are usually under-recognized and untreated.

Parkinson's disease beyond 20†years.

BACKGROUND: A very limited number of studies report data on the clinical features of Parkinson's disease (PD) 20 years after onset and beyond. OBJECTIVE: To characterise PD 20 years after onset, investigating the impact of age at onset and disease duration on the clinical picture and the predictors of outcomes in patients reaching the 20-year time point. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study and a longitudinal study. All case visits of patients with a disease duration ≥20 years (N=401) were stratified by disease duration (20-22, 23-25, ≥26 years) and by age at onset (cut-off, 50 years). Patients with a disease duration of 20-22 years (N=320) were prospectively followed up for a median of 45 months (IQR 23-89) for the new occurrence of fracture, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy, institutionalisation, confinement to a wheelchair or bed and death. RESULTS: Older age at onset and longer disease duration were independently associated with a higher prevalence of major motor and non-motor milestones of disease disability (no interaction observed). In the longitudinal study, the most frequent outcomes were death (N=92), confinement to a wheelchair or bed (N=67) and fracture (N=52). Mortality was associated with the gender: male, older age, dysphagia, orthostatic hypotension, postural instability, fractures and institutionalisation. Fracture was associated with postural instability. Predictors of permanent confinement to a wheelchair or bed were older age, postural instability and institutionalisation. Comorbid dementia at the 20-year examination did not predict any of the outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Age at onset and disease duration are independent determinants of the clinical features of PD beyond 20 years. Non-motor symptoms depend more on age at onset rather than the disease duration itself. Non-levodopa-responsive axial symptoms are the main predictors of all relevant outcomes.

Later age at onset in Parkinson's disease over twenty years in an Italian tertiary clinic.

BACKGROUND: Age is considered an important risk factor for Parkinson's disease (PD). However, although life-expectancy has increased considerably, incidence rates of PD appeared to be stable over the last two decades. Accordingly, an increase in mean age at onset over time could be expected. We investigated the changes in age at onset in PD over the last two decades. METHODS: All consecutive PD patients assessed over a 18-year period (1995-2013) in a single tertiary outpatient clinic were included in the present retrospective cohort study. RESULTS: After adjusting for several confounders (gender, positive family history for PD, education, smoking at onset and past exposure to environmental/occupational pollutants), 5-year cohorts of year of disease onset were associated with increasing age at onset in both prevalent (N = 6996) and incident (N = 4172) cases (for trend, P < 0.001). From 1995-2000 to 2010-2013 there was an increase in predicted age of 4.1 years (95% CI, 3.0-5.2) and 3.9 years (95% CI, 2.7-5.1) in prevalent and incident cases, respectively. However, the change in predicted age at PD onset, across cohorts of year at onset, showed a steeper increase than the corresponding sex and cohort-matched mean age from the official Italian statistics. CONCLUSIONS: Over the last two decades, age at onset of PD appeared to shift progressively towards more advanced age. However, sequential, high-quality population-based incidence studies are required. To establish whether there is a trend towards increase in age at onset over and above general population ageing and to assess whether the increase is associated with improved medical and socio-economic conditions.

Dopamine dysregulation syndrome in Parkinson's disease: from clinical and neuropsychological characterisation to management and long-term outcome.

OBJECTIVE: Dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS) refers to a compulsive pattern of dopaminergic drug misuse complicating Parkinson's disease (PD). To date, few data are available on DDS risk factors, cognitive profile and long-term outcome. METHODS: In this retrospective case-control study, consecutive PD outpatients fulfilling criteria for DDS were assessed over a 6-year period (2005-2011). They were compared with 70 PD cases matched for age at onset, gender and disease duration, and with 1281 subjects with motor fluctuations and dyskinesias. DDS patients and matched controls underwent extensive neuropsychological assessment. Strategies for DDS patients management and the outcome at the last follow-up visit were recorded. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients with DDS were identified, reporting history of depression, family history of PD and drug abuse, greater difference between 'Off' versus 'On' motor symptoms compared to age-matched controls. They had younger age at onset (but not any gender difference) compared to general PD population. Cognitive profile of DDS did not show major abnormalities, including executive functions. DDS patients have been followed up for 3.2±2.1 years and remission was recorded in 40% of cases. Negative DDS outcome was significantly associated with poor caregiver supervision. Sustained remission occurred more commonly on clozapine and on duodenal levodopa infusion and subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) than on apomorphine pump treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should be aware of risk factors predisposing to DDS. Duodenal levodopa infusion and, less consistently, STN-DBS were more commonly associated with DDS remission. Effective caregiving plays a key role in long-term behavioural outcome.

Valproate induces epigenetic modifications in lymphomonocytes from epileptic patients.

Valproate (VPA) is an anti-epileptic and mood-stabilizing drug with a broad range of action and which mechanism of action still remains in part elusive. Recently the discovery that VPA modifies the epigenome increasing the transcriptional rate of target genes raises the issue of understanding the exact role of this mechanism. In this work we tested the possibility that VPA could modify the epigenome of lymphomonocytes (PBMC) obtained from epileptic patients chronically treated in monotherapy with VPA and phenobarbital. Acetyl-histone H3 expression was assessed by western blotting and global DNA methylation by incorporation of [³H]dCTP. A significant increase in histone acetylation and a correlated decrease of global DNA methylation were shown at VPA therapeutically relevant plasma concentrations. This effect was drug-related, since it was not demonstrated in PBMC obtained from phenobarbital-treated patients. Moreover, a VPA dose-response curve was performed on PBMC obtained from healthy controls, demonstrating an increase of acetyl-histone H3 content. We suggest that the epigenetic properties of VPA expressed on PBMC at these concentrations might be operative in different tissues, with possible implications for the field of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Parkin analysis in early onset Parkinson's disease.

We analysed the parkin gene in a large consecutive series (146) of unrelated early onset Parkinson's disease (onset ?40 years of age) patients. Twelve cases (8.2%) had homozygous or compound heterozygous point mutations and/or exon rearrangements, while a single mutation was found in four subjects (2.7%). We identified eight exon rearrangements and nine point mutations, two of which were novel: c.735delT (p.C212/X224) and c.815C>G (p.C238W). Genotype-phenotype correlation revealed that parkin carriers had features similar to those of non-carrier early onset Parkinson disease patients.