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Biomedical subjects

A M Bonnet

Publications and source records attributed to A M Bonnet.

84 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Pathophysiology of L-dopa-induced abnormal involuntary movements.

Among the various deficiencies in neurotransmitters and neuropeptides in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease, the loss of dopamine (DA) is implicated in a major way in the occurrence of L-dopa-induced abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs). Whatever the clinical pattern, they are triggered by drugs which stimulate DA transmission and can be modified by DA agonists and antagonists. They occur when DOPA plasma concentrations, and thus central DA receptor stimulation, reach a critical level. They are observed in patients with severely damaged central DA neurons, but involvement of other neurotransmitter-containing cells cannot be excluded. L-Dopa-induced AIMs have clinical and somatotopic characteristics, which vary from patient to patient. One might speculate that variable damage to DA neurons, associated or not with other neurotransmitter-containing cells in the affected brain structures, causes these differences in AIM patterns. By analogy with behavioral experiments in animals, the hypersensitivity of DA receptors observed in the basal ganglia of parkinsonian patients post mortem might reasonably be considered to mediate L-dopa-induced AIMs. However, the role of various subtypes of DA receptors or of changes in DA metabolism in the cell bodies and dendrites (substantia nigra) or nerve terminals (striatolimbic areas) must also be considered. In brief, the features, topography, and timing of L-dopa-induced AIMs are dependent upon alterations of the functional expression of striatal DA output, which is not yet well understood.

Brain↗

[The L-dopa test in Parkinson's disease].

Seventy parkinsonian patients (mean age: 59.6 +/- 1.2 years; duration of disease: 9 +/- 0.6 years) with severe fluctuations of disability under L-Dopa treatment received a single dose of L-Dopa (200 mg + benserazide, a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor) after 24-72 h interruption of treatment. The delay and duration of action of a single dose of L-Dopa, and the percentage of improvement of the parkinsonian symptoms were 39 +/- 2 and 162 +/- 6 minutes, and 57 +/- 2 p. 100 respectively. Estimation of the difference between the basal parkinsonian score and the score during maximum clinical improvement under levodopa treatment, and the score under levodopa treatment may reflect the severity of dopaminergic and of non dopaminergic lesions in the brain respectively. Modification of the treatment to obtain continuous clinical improvement can be performed according to the delay and duration of action of a single dose of L-Dopa.

Aromatic Amino Acid Decarboxylase Inhibitors↗

Antiparkinsonian and antidepressant effects of high doses of bromocriptine. An independent comparison.

Ten depressed parkinsonian patients were treated with high doses of bromocriptine (rang 85-220 mg/day). Changes in the parkinsonian and depressive symptomatologies were independently evaluated by a neurologist and a psychiatrist. Rating took place before treatment after wash-out and again 8 days later. Results show a significant mean improvement of both depressive and parkinsonian symptomatologies. However, there was no correlation between the two therapeutic effects in the 10 patients. Clinical and biological implications of these heterogeneous patterns are discussed.

Adult↗

Treatment of Huntington disease with gamma-acetylenic GABA an irreversible inhibitor of GABA-transaminase: increased CSF GABA and homocarnosine without clinical amelioration.

gamma-Acetylenic GABA (GAG, RMI 71.645), a potent irreversible inhibitor of gamma-aminobutyric acid transaminase, was given orally in various dosage schedules to 14 patients with Huntington disease. The biochemical effects of the drug on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and the GABA-containing dipeptide, homocarnosine, were measured in 10 of 14 patients. Treatment with GAG increased CSF concentrations of GABA and homocarnosine as compared to pretreatment values, suggesting that the drug increased brain GABA concentration. Despite this neurochemical effect, the clinical state was not improved. Except for single seizure episodes in five patients, GAG therapy was well tolerated. These results do not exclude the possibility that agents that augment CNS GABAergic function may prove useful in therapy of Huntington disease.

4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase↗

Bromocriptine associated with a peripheral dopamine blocking agent in treatment of Parkinson's disease.

A peripheral dopaminergic blocking agent, domperidone (60 mg daily), or placebo was given, double-blind, to 17 parkinsonian patients who also received increasing doses of bromocriptine. Combined treatment with domperidone reduced total disability by 76% in 8 patients receiving a mean dose of 148 mg of bromocriptine daily. There was no vomiting and involuntary movements and psychic disturbances were similar to those in patients on levodopa and a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor. In 9 patients taking placebo instead of domperidone, the average daily dose of bromocriptine could not be raised beyond 92 mg. The mean total disability score in this group was reduced by only 48%. Thus, peripheral blockade of dopamine receptors is a promising means of limiting the adverse side-effects of the treatment of parkinsonism with central dopaminergic receptor stimulating agents such as bromocriptine.

Adult↗

Neurokinin B, neurotensin, and cannabinoid receptor antagonists and Parkinson disease.

The neuropeptides neurokinin B, neurotensin, and anandamide, the endogenous ligands of NK3, NT1, and CB1 receptors respectively, are known to interact with brain dopaminergic transmission. This study evaluated the effects of these three antagonists of the NK3 (SR 142801), neurotensin (SR 48692), and cannabinoid (SR 141716) receptors on the severity of motor symptoms and levodopa-induced dyskinesias after administration of a single dose of levodopa in 24 patients with Parkinson disease. In this exploratory randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, at the dose used, the drugs tested were well tolerated and could not improve parkinsonian motor disability.

Aged↗

Chronic thalamic stimulation with three-dimensional MR stereotactic guidance.

PURPOSE: To report a method of electrode implantation in the ventralis intermedius nucleus of the thalamus for the treatment of tremor using a 3-D stereotactic MR imaging technique. METHODS: Five patients (three men and two women; mean age, 59 years) with medically refractory tremor had intrathalamic implantation of a stimulating electrode. Stereotactic MR imaging was performed on a 1.5-T unit equipped with an MR-compatible Leksell G stereotactic frame fixed to the patient's head. Calculation of the coordinates of the theoretical target was based on the coordinates of the anterior commissure, the posterior commissure, and the midline sagittal plane as determined via stereotactic MR imaging. During the surgical procedure, the best position for the stimulating electrode was determined by electrophysiological and clinical studies. Postoperative MR control studies were done in all cases to verify the position of the electrode. RESULTS: Stereotactic MR imaging allowed precise implantation of the stimulating electrode in all patients. Electrode stimulation produced a 90% reduction of the tremor in two patients, an 80% and 70% reduction in one patient each, and a persistent microthalamotomy-like effect in the fifth patient. Examination of the MR control studies showed that mean error in the positioning of the electrodes was 0.77 +/- 0.6 mm (mean +/- SD) in the x direction and 0.80 +/- 1.02 mm in the y direction. CONCLUSION: Although our series is relatively small, the precision achieved with stereotactic MR imaging proves that it can be used with confidence for precise functional neurosurgical procedures.

Brain Mapping↗

[Abnormal movements caused by L-DOPA in patients with Parkinson's disease: correlation with the plasma concentrations of DOPA and O-methyl-DOPA].

This study involved twleve parkinsonian patients exposed to abnormal movements provoked by L-DOPA. Including six patients with "mid-dose" dyskinesias and six others with "onset and end of dose" dyskinesias, Correlation between the circumstances of onset of abnormal movements and plasma concentrations of DOPA and O-methyl-DOPA, after administration of a dose of L-DOPA + IDC, gave the following results: 1) mid-dose dyskinesias appeared with the highest plasma concentrations of DOPA, at the maximum therapeutic effect; 2) onset and end of dose occurred during rise and fall in plasma levels of DOPA, coinciding with the relief and the reappearance of parkinsonian symptoms respectively; 3) no correlation could be established between plasma concentrations of O-methyl-DOPA and the duration of the period of clinical remission or of abnormal movements. These biochemical data, completed by the neuropharmacological study of one patient with onset and end of dose abnormal movements suggest the predominant role of a disturbance in central dopaminergic mechanisms in the genesis of abnormal movements, whatever their nature.

Dihydroxyphenylalanine↗