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Hemiballism in a patient with probable multiple system atrophy.

We report a patient with long-standing asymmetrical parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia and dysautonomia, suggestive of multiple system atrophy (MSA). However, the patient also developed involuntary repetitive movements similar to ballic dyskinesias and mental deterioration. MRI revealed major involvement of both posterior fossa structures and basal ganglia. The case would be accommodated within a rubric of MSA widened to include involvement of the subthalamic nucleus and the medial part of the pallidum, pathology which may account for the ballic movements. Additionally the patient's cognitive and behavioural disturbances suggest an impairment of striato-prefrontal cortex loop.

Autonomic Nervous System Diseases↗

Plasma cfDNA hypermethylation at SNCA intron 1 as a potential blood-based epigenetic signal in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.

BACKGROUND: The accumulation of α-synuclein (SNCA) in the central nervous system is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). SNCA intron 1 methylation is implicated in SNCA transcriptional regulation and may serve as a peripheral epigenetic signal in synucleinopathies. However, studies of SNCA methylation in leukocyte-derived DNA have yielded inconsistent results. We aimed to evaluate whether cell-free DNA (cfDNA)-based SNCA intron 1 methylation differs in PD or MSA compared with normal controls (NC). METHODS: Plasma cfDNA was collected from 105 patients with PD, 50 with MSA, and 114 NC. DNA methylation at CpG sites 10-17 was quantified by bisulfite pyrosequencing. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models, adjusted for age, sex, and education, were used to compare methylation levels and estimate odds ratios (ORs). RESULTS: Patients with PD exhibited hypermethylation at CpG site 14 and higher mean methylation across CpG sites 10-17 compared with NC. Patients with MSA showed hypermethylation at CpG sites 10, 12, 13, and 17 and elevated mean methylation. Elevated mean methylation was also observed in drug-naïve de novo PD and early-stage PD patients. Compared with the lowest tertile, the highest mean methylation tertile was associated with increased odds of PD (OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.08-5.92) and MSA (OR, 5.02; 95% CI, 1.58-18.00). CONCLUSION: Plasma cfDNA SNCA intron 1 hypermethylation is associated with PD and MSA and detectable in drug-naïve and early-stage PD. It may represent a peripheral epigenetic alteration and warrants evaluation as an adjunctive signal for early screening.

Humans↗

[Multiple system atrophy (MSA)].

Sporadic olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA), Shy-Drager syndrome (SDS), striatonigral degeneration (SND) are classified as multiple system atrophy (MSA), based on their clinicopathological findings. These clinical features, neuroimaging including CT, MRI, PET and SPECT findings, autonomic function test, pathological findings and treatments are reviewed. Several advances such as noradrenaline loading test, low signal intensity on T2 weighted image on super-conductive MRI and glial cytoplasmic inclusions in the central nervous system on pathological finding are notable. However, unsatisfactory medical treatment for MSA must be resolved in a near future.

Autonomic Nervous System↗

[Multiple systemic atrophies, mental retardation, neurogenic amyotrophy and congenital bone fragility. A new neuro-generative disorder].

Five cases of a congenital neurological disorder are reported. Four patients, born after a breech delivery, belong to one sibship while the fifth patient is the only child in another family. The clinical features include quadriplegia, amyotrophy, a peripheral neuropathy, severe mental retardation and a subluxation of the hips. X-rays reveal diffuse osteoporosis and multiple spontaneous fractures. Autopsies in 3 patients showed multiple system atrophies involving the spinal cord and the cerebellum, coarse cerebral gyri and a marked reduction in volume of the white matter. These various pathological features are compared with the lesions found in a few other cases reported in the literature, none of which can be considered to be identical to the ones described. It is therefore felt that the condition under discussion represents a new syndrome to be classified, at least temporarily, within the group of multiple system atrophies.

Atrophy↗

Sleep and periodic leg movement patterns in drug-free patients with Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess and compare polygraphic sleep measures and periodic leg movement (PLM) patterns in untreated patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and healthy age-matched controls. DESIGN: Polysomnographic recordings of 2 consecutive nights were performed in 10 patients with PD (mean age 65 years, mean Hoehn and Yahr stage 2.2), 10 patients with MSA (mean age 61 years) and in a control group of 10 healthy subjects (mean age 64 years). All patients and controls were free of antiparkinsonian medication and other centrally active drugs for 2 weeks prior to polysomnography. SETTING: NA. PATIENTS OR PARTICIPANTS: NA. INTERVENTIONS: NA. RESULTS: Sleep measures for the second night showed a significantly lower total sleep time, sleep efficiency and sleep period time in PD and MSA patients compared to healthy controls. PLM-indices during sleep and wakefulness were significantly higher in PD, but not in MSA patients compared to controls. Five patients with PD and 7 patients with MSA, but no control subject, showed abnormal rapid eye movement (REM) sleep features (i.e., REM sleep without atonia or behavioral manifestations typical for REM sleep behavior disorder). CONCLUSIONS: Sleep disruption and increased motor activity during REM and non REM sleep are a frequent finding in PD and MSA. An increased PLM index in untreated PD patients may be due to a dopaminergic deficit and is probably not associated with dopaminergic treatment.

Aged↗

Fulminant multiple system atrophy in a young adult presenting as motor neuron disease.

A 34-year-old man demonstrated rapidly progressive motor neuron disease and, late in his 9-month clinical course, exhibited ophthalmoplegia and dysautonomic symptoms. Neuropathology showed spinal and bulbar motor neuron disease with severe involvement of extraocular motor nuclei, degeneration of spinal sympathetic and bulbar parasympathetic nuclei, striatonigral degeneration, and early olivopontocerebellar atrophy. This case underscores the diversity of multiple system atrophy and demonstrates an unusually rapid course in a young patient.

Adult↗

Normal cerebrospinal fluid glutathione concentrations in Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and multiple system atrophy.

We measured total glutathione concentrations in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of non-demented Parkinson's disease patients (PD; n=71), demented PD patients (PDD; n=13), multiple system atrophy patients (MSA; n=10), Alzheimer's disease patients (AD; n=17) and age-matched controls (n=21). No statistically significant differences in the mean total CSF glutathione concentrations were found between groups and dopaminomimetic treatment was not found to have any effect on total CSF glutathione levels. Our main conclusion is that total glutathione is not useful as a CSF marker for assumed oxidative stress in patients with PD, MSA or AD.

Aged↗

Quantitative study of lateral horn cells in 15 cases of multiple system atrophy.

Nerve cell counts of the lateral horns of the spinal cord were performed in 15 cases of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and three age- and sex-matched controls. The patients with MSA were comprised of eight with severe postural hypotension, three with orthostatic hypotension and little or no disability and four without any signs of autonomic failure. All cases of MSA had lost more than half their lateral horn cells but nerve cell loss could not be correlated with the degree of dysautonomia. These results confirm the involvement of the intermediolateral columns of the spinal cord in MSA. However, the lack of correlation between cell loss and severity of autonomic failure in our cases, suggests that lesions of other sites, such as sympathetic ganglia or the dorsal vagal nuclei, are also implicated in dysautonomia.

Aged↗

Pain in multiple system atrophy.

Pain is a recognized feature of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) but has never been studied in multiple system atrophy (MSA), the commonest cause of atypical parkinsonism. We retrospectively analysed histories of pain in 100 consecutive cases of clinically probable MSA. Details were obtained from the medical records of 100 patients with MSA, comprising 82 with the striatonigral degeneration (SND) type and 18 with the olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA) type of MSA. Pain was reported in 47% of the MSA patients. It was classified as rheumatic in 64% of MSA patients reporting pain, sensory in 28%, dystonic in 21%, and levodopa-related in 16%, mostly related to off-period or diphasic dystonias. There was a mixed pain syndrome in 19% of these patients. Pain was significantly more commonly reported by females (P = 0.02), and by patients with levodopa-induced dyskinesias (P = 0.02). No other clinical feature differentiated MSA patients who reported pain from those who did not. The mean delay between disease onset and onset of pain was 2.9 years, but pain was reported at the time of, or before, disease onset in about 30% of patients. The overall prevalence of pain in MSA was similar to that reported in IPD, but the distribution of pain categories was different.

Adult↗

Vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP) in Parkinson's disease: difference from VCAP in multiple system atrophy.

Vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP) is rare in Parkinson's disease (PD), while it is frequent in multiple system atrophy (MSA). Although VCAP is a life-threatening complication it has not yet been clarified whether there is any difference in the mechanism of VCAP between PD and MSA. Examining 3 autopsy-proven PD patients who developed severe VCAP requiring tracheostomy, we found the following differences in the mechanism of VCAP between MSA and PD: (1) clinical and laryngofiberscopic examination showed that VCAP in PD was not exacerbated during sleep, unlike in MSA; (2) On histological examination of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles, the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle demonstrated no abnormalities in PD, while the muscle showed characteristic neurogenic atrophy in MSA. There seemed to be two types of VCAP, namely the nonparalytic type observed in PD, and the paralytic type observed in MSA. Severe dysphagia requiring tube-feeding was common among PD patients who presented with VCAP. Although the relationship between VCAP and dysphagia is unknown, one should be aware of the possibility of fatal VCAP in PD patients with severe dysphagia.

Aged↗

Neuronal inclusions in the dentate fascia in patients with multiple system atrophy.

Ubiquitin-immunoreactive neuronal inclusions in the granular cells in the dentate fascia (UNIDs) of patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) were examined for immunohistochemical and ultrastructural characterization especially in comparison with those which were recently reported for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with dementia (ALS-D). Eight of 23 MSA patients had UNIDs which were also identified by Gallyas-Braak impregnation but immunonegative for other antibodies including against tau, neurofilaments, and alphaB crystallin. Ultrastructurally, loosely aggregated fibrils without limiting membrane located around the nucleus, which was confirmed by the results of ubiquitin-immunoelectron microscopy. The formation of UNIDs in MSA and ALS-D was suggested to be caused by different types of degeneration because UNIDs in MSA differ from these in ALS-D in terms of their stainability by Gallyas-Braak impregnation and ultrastructurally. In this study hippocampal involvement in MSA differing from ALS-D was clarified.

Aged↗

Multiple system atrophy.

The past year has seen advances in delineating the clinical features, natural history and imaging characteristics of multiple system atrophy. The initiating pathogenetic mechanisms remain unknown. However, any aetiological or pathophysiological hypothesis must consider not only neuronal loss and gliosis but also the recently described characteristic oligodendrolial cytoplasmic inclusions.

Brain↗

A study of parkinsonism in multiple system atrophy: clinical and MRI correlation.

We investigated clinical and MRI correlation in 18 patients with clinically-diagnosed multiple system atrophy (MSA) and 16 age-matched controls, using 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We evaluated the severity of parkinsonism in each MSA patient. In assessing the MRI findings, we examined three parameters quantitatively: width of the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNc); putaminal hypointensity on T2-weighted images; and putaminal atrophy. As in previous studies, SNc width was narrowed and the putaminal signal intensity was decreased in patients with MSA compared with controls. The clinical severity of parkinsonism did not correlate significantly with the SNc width or the score of putaminal hypointensity in MSA. However, not only did putaminal atrophy occur, but correlated well with the severity of parkinsonism in MSA. A significant correlation could not be established between narrowing of SNc and shrinkage of the putamen. These findings suggest that putaminal atrophy is associated with the clinical manifestations of parkinsonism and do not support the hypothesis that transsynaptic degeneration occurs in MSA.

Adult↗

[Vocal cord abductor paralysis in multiple system atrophy--paradoxical movement of vocal cords during sleep].

Bilateral vocal cord abductor paralysis (VCAP) is frequently associated with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and the early clinical manifestation of VCAP is nocturnal inspiratory stridor simulating heavy snoring observed in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. We examined six MSA patients with nocturnal stridor and four disease controls including sleep apnea syndrome. Vocal cord movements were analyzed by laryngofiberscopy during both wakefulness and sleep induced by intravenous administration of diazepam. The results were as follows: First, the stenotic portion in the upper airway tract was the larynx (the vocal cords) in MSA patients with stridor, while the soft palate or the pharynx in the disease controls. Second, in the MSA patients, while awake-laryngofiberscopy showed abduction restriction suggestive of VCAP in only one of the six patients, sleep-laryngofiberscopy showed obvious paradoxical movement of the vocal cord in all the rests, where the vocal cords abducted in expiration and adducted in inspiration. In addition, there were two patterns in the inspiratory vocal cord position during sleep: one pattern where vocal glottis was still opening at the posterior one-third area and the other pattern where vocal glottis was almost completely closed through total length of the cords. Tracheostomy should be considered in the latter stage of VCAP.

Aged↗

Silver staining method for demonstrating Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease and argyrophilic oligodendrocytes in multiple system atrophy.

A reliable and economical silver staining method is recommended for demonstration of Lewy bodies (LB) and Lewy neurites (LN) in Parkinson's disease (PD) and of argyrophilic oligodendrocytes in multiple system atrophy (MSA). The technique can be applied to routinely formalin-fixed autopsy material and does not require particular skills. It permits processing of frozen sections and sections from polyethylene glycol or paraffin embedded material. It takes advantage of the physical development of nucleation sites and thereby permits tight control of the entire staining procedure.

Brain↗

REM sleep motor dysfunction in multiple system atrophy: with special emphasis on sleep talk as its early clinical manifestation.

Various neurodegenerative diseases involving brainstem structures as one of the main pathological lesions are reported to be associated with REM sleep behaviour disorder. Full blown REM sleep behaviour disorder can be diagnosed clinically, but REM sleep motor dysfunction, a pathophysiological basis of REM sleep behaviour disorder, is difficult to detect without all night polysomnography. Twenty one consecutive patients with multiple system atrophy with no complaints of nocturnal abnormal behaviours were clinically evaluated to determine the presence of sleep related symptoms. All night polysomnography with video monitoring was performed to investigate REM sleep characteristics and patients' behaviours. In 85.7% (18 of 21) of the patients' sleep talk started or increased around or after the clinical onset of the primary diseases. REM sleep without atonia occupied more than 15% (16.2%-100%) of the REM sleep time in all but one patient. In 90.5% (19 of 21) of patients, motor events such as sleep talk and various combinations of craniofacial, orofacial, or limb movements occurred at various frequencies mostly during REM sleep without atonia. In patients with multiple system atrophy, REM sleep motor dysfunction is a common polysomnographic finding which is otherwise overlooked, and sleep talk may be its early clinical manifestation.

Aged↗

L-glutamate, L-arginine and L-citrulline levels in cerebrospinal fluid of Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, and Alzheimer's disease patients.

Alterations in neuronal nitric oxide (NO) production may play a role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD) Alzheimer's disease (AD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). The biosynthesis of NO is dependent on the availability of L-arginine, the substrate for NO-synthase (NOS), and on L-glutamate, which stimulates NO synthesis via the NMDA receptor. In this process L-citrulline is formed. We measured the levels of these amino acids in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 108 PD patients, 12 AD patients, 15 MSA patients and 21 healthy subjects. A slight but statistically significant elevation of CSF L-citrulline was found in MSA patients, while CSF L-glutamate was found to be significantly decreased in AD patients. We found no significant changes in L-arginine levels. Although the relation between the CSF levels of these amino acids and neuronal NO production is still unclear, our findings suggest that AD is associated with a decrease in NO synthesis.

Aged↗

Laryngeal electromyography with separated surface electrodes in patients with multiple system atrophy presenting with vocal cord paralysis.

When recording the activity of the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle (PCA) with surface electrodes, there is contamination from the surrounding muscles such as the cricopharyngeal muscle. We therefore devised a new oesophageal catheter electrode of the separate type, having three individual surface electrodes for the PCA, cricopharyngeal muscle and diaphragm. The records obtained with this catheter demonstrated satisfactory separation between PCA and cricopharyngeal muscle activities. We used this catheter in patients with multiple system atrophy presenting with vocal cord paralysis, who were awake or asleep. There were two interesting electromyographical findings, which were inspiratory activity of the adductor muscle (the thyroarytenoid muscle) and fade-out of the abductor muscle, that is, PCA activity during sleep. Although vocal cord paralysis is one of the most serious life-threatening complications, the precise mechanism has not been clarified. We believe that our catheter may be useful in investigating the mechanism of vocal cord paralysis which could cause sudden death in neurodegenerative disorders, including multiple system atrophy.

Aged↗