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Characterizing swallowing abnormalities in progressive supranuclear palsy.

The dysphagia that occurs as an early sign of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and which may predispose patients to aspiration pneumonia, has never been fully characterized. We evaluated 27 patients (mean +/- SEM: age, 64.9 +/- 1 years; symptom duration, 52 +/- 5 months) who met the clinical National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and Society for PSP (NINDS-SPSP) criteria for possible or probable PSP, with a swallowing questionnaire, an oral motor and speech examination, and either a modified barium swallow or ultrasound studies. Twenty-eight age- and sex-matched healthy controls (age, 65.6 +/- 1.5 years) were also evaluated with the questionnaire, oral examination, and the ultrasound study. We used ANOVA statistics to evaluate differences between groups; nonparametric correlations to assess associations between swallowing and motor and cognitive abnormalities; and logistic regression analysis to determine if the items of the questionnaire or oral examination predicted ultrasound or modified barium swallow abnormalities. While PSP patients had at least one complaint on the swallowing questionnaire (mean, 6.6), healthy controls had fewer and less relevant complaints (0.3). Patients with moderate-to-severe cognitive disabilities had significantly more complaints of dysphagia than those with mild or no impairment. PSP patients' oral motor skills and speech were mildly impaired but significantly different from those of controls. In the ultrasound studies, PSP patients had significantly fewer continuous swallows and required a longer duration to complete their swallows than did healthy controls. They also had mild-to-moderate abnormalities in the modified barium swallow study. The swallowing questionnaire, oral motor examination, and speech production examination accurately predicted the abnormalities detected with the swallowing studies. While 75% of patients had abnormal speech, all but one had abnormal swallowing studies. Thus, although dysphagia is associated with dysarthria, the two conditions are not always paired in the same patient. Our results suggest that the swallowing questionnaire and oral motor examination are an easy and cost-effective method to predict the swallowing disturbances in PSP.

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[Cortical lesions in progressive supranuclear palsy (Steele-Richardson-Olszewski disease)].

Histopathological changes seen in progressive supranuclear palsy (Steele-Richardson-Olszewski disease) have been thought to be located in subcortical nuclei. However, abundant neurofibrillary tangles have been found recently in several neocortical areas. Their morphology and ultrastructure, regional and laminar distributions, as well as antigenic and biochemical properties make them clearly different from the neurofibrillary tangles observed in Alzheimer's disease and aging. Tau positive fibrillary accumulation in the nevroglia has also been seen in the cortex. The topographical distribution of the lesions is rather stereotyped, but some uncommon distributions (such as pallido-luysonigral) have been identified. Factorial analysis has shown that cortical and subcortical lesions are independent; pedonculopontine nucleus could play a role in the cortical diffusion of the lesions.

Cerebral Cortex↗

[Apraxia of eyelid closure in a patient with progressive supranuclear palsy].

We reported a 68-year-old man with progressive supranuclear palsy who present with apraxia of eyelid closure. He showed horizontal and vertical supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, neck dystonic posture, pseudobulbar palsy and subcortical dementia. He opened his eyes almost all day long except for sleeping. His spontaneous blinking was noted at less than 1 per a minute. Although he closed his eyes reflexively, he could not close his eyes by verbal command. He occasionally closed his eyelids by using both hands. The surface electromyographic (EMG) findings revealed that the frequency of frontal muscle contraction did not decrease, and rather increased during verbal command to close his eyes. The contraction frequency of orbicularis oculi muscle did not increase by the command of voluntary eyelid closure. It is suggested that abnormal contractions of frontalis and orbicularis oculi muscles which are correlated in eyelid closing and opening might contribute to the apraxia of eyelid closure.

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[Prognosis of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy].

Survival and prognosis were investigated in 45 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (including 10 autopsy cases) from April, 1991 to March, 2003 in Higashi Nagoya National Hospital. The subjects were 28 males, and 17 females. Mean age at onset was 64.9 years old (45-79 years old), and median survival time was 6 years. Age at onset, sex and clinical group due to NINDS-SPSP criteria ("probable" vs "possible") were not related to survival time. Among the symptoms and signs at onset, only dysphagia was related to prognosis. Dysphagia within the first year from onset reduced survival time (p < 0.0001).

Age of Onset↗

[An elderly patient with progressive supranuclear palsy without neurological signs].

We report an elderly patient with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) who showed no neurological signs clinically. A 70-year-old man presented with irritation and poor hygiene, thereafter he showed excitement and violence. A cranial CT scan revealed bilateral moderate atrophy of the temporal lobes and slight enlargement of the lateral ventricle. The brain stem was slightly atrophic. Although he died at the age of 80 years, he had no neurological signs throughout the clinical course. Neuropathological study showed typical findings of PSP, neuronal loss with gliosis and neurofibrillary tangles in the basal ganglia, amygdala, midbrain, pons, dentate nucleus and inferior olivary nucleus. Staining by Gallyas-Braak methods revealed argyrophilic and tau-positive glial fibrillary tangles in the cerebral cortex. Neurofibrillary tangles showed greater frequency than usual for the physiological level in that age group in the hippocampus regions as well as in the amygdala. The possibility that the psychotic symptoms, mainly personality change, are connected with the degeneration of limbic system is indicated. Since there have not been any previous reports of PSP without neurological signs, this case represents an important in terms of clinico-pathological variation of PSP. We suggest that there is discrepancy between symptomatic and neuropathological aspects in elderly patients with PSP.

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Ferritin is associated with the aberrant tau filaments present in progressive supranuclear palsy.

Tau-containing filaments purified from the brain of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients were isolated and characterized. These filaments co-purify with regular particles that biophysical and biochemical methods identified as ferritin shells. In vivo, brain tau accumulation in PSP co-localized with ferritin. These results suggest that ferritin/iron could modulate the formation of tau aggregates in PSP.

Brain↗

Slowing of cognitive processing in progressive supranuclear palsy. A comparison with Parkinson's disease.

To investigate central processing time in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy and Parkinson's disease, reaction times were measured using tasks with different levels of cognitive complexity but with the same motor response. In patients with Parkinson's disease, the additional central processing time required for more complex situations was no different from that in control subjects, suggesting that cognitive aspects of the reaction time procedures tested were possibly too simple to reveal a slowing of thought processes in these patients. Conversely, the central processing time was increased in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy compared with both Parkinson's disease and control subjects. The increase was associated with impairment in frontal lobe test performance. These results confirm that a slowing of central processing is a prominent feature of the cognitive disturbances of progressive supranuclear palsy and, furthermore, suggest that this slowing may be related to striatofrontal dysfunction.

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Pathological substrate for regional distribution of increased atrophy rates in progressive supranuclear palsy.

BACKGROUND: Most magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) are cross-sectional and lack post mortem confirmation of the diagnosis. MRI features described previously in PSP correspond to regions of pathological involvement demonstrated in separate studies, but serial MRI with pathological follow up has not been undertaken. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether regions of increased atrophy rates demonstrated in PSP during life using fluid registered serial MRI correspond with pathological findings in confirmed PSP. METHODS: A 59 year old male presented with a six month history of balance problems and dysarthria. He had a symmetrical, levodopa unresponsive akinetic-rigid syndrome with a vertical supranuclear gaze palsy. A clinical diagnosis of probable PSP was made. His disease progressed relentlessly and he died five years after onset. Two serial MRI scans undertaken during life were reviewed and fluid (non-linear) registration of the images carried out. Post mortem histopathological analysis of the brain was undertaken to definitively confirm the diagnosis and compare regional pathology with the serial imaging. RESULTS: Fluid registration demonstrated greatest rates of atrophy in the brainstem and frontal cortex, in keeping with the distribution of pathology seen at autopsy. CONCLUSION: Fluid registration of serial MRI allows the topography and rates of regional atrophy in PSP to be delineated in life. Atrophy patterns correlated well with regional pathological load. These observations suggest that serial MRI with registration may help differentiate PSP from clinically similar conditions and supports its use as a surrogate marker of disease progression.

Brain↗

Spinal cord lesions in progressive supranuclear palsy: some new observations.

The spinal cord was examined in two cases of progressive supranuclear palsy. In both cases, cells with neurofibrillary tangles were seen in the anterior horn, posterior horn, lateral horn, Clark's column, and intermediate gray. The tangles were most frequently observed in the posterior horn. The results suggest that the spinal cord is involved in the pathological process of progressive supranuclear palsy.

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Atrophy of the corpus callosum, cognitive impairment, and cortical hypometabolism in progressive supranuclear palsy.

Recent studies disclosed neurofibrillary degeneration in layer 3 of the association cortex in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. This lesion may be associated with corpus callosum atrophy and may impair the function of cortical regions indispensable for complex cognitive activity. To investigate whether corpus callosum atrophy is associated with cognitive impairment and cerebral cortical hypometabolism, we studied 10 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy using magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucose as a tracer. Compared with 23 age-matched control subjects, the patients had significantly decreased callosal area-skull area ratios, with anterior predominance of the degree of atrophy. The corpus callosum atrophy was accompanied by a decreased mean cortical glucose metabolic rate, predominantly in the frontal region of the cortex, and poor performance on the picture arrangement subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the verbal fluency task. We conclude that corpus callosum atrophy with anterior predominance is present in progressive supranuclear palsy, and that this atrophy is associated with cognitive impairment and cerebral cortical hypometabolism, especially in the frontal cortical region. Corpus callosum atrophy may reflect the pathological changes in the cerebral cortex, accentuated in the frontal region, that contribute to the development of frontal lobe dysfunction in this disease.

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Differing patterns of striatal 18F-dopa uptake in Parkinson's disease, multiple system atrophy, and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Using positron emission tomography (PET), we studied regional striatal 18F-dopa uptake in 16 patients with L-dopa-responsive Parkinson's disease (PD), 18 patients with multiple system atrophy, and 10 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. Results were compared with those of 30 age-matched normal volunteers. The patients with PD showed significantly reduced mean uptake of 18F-dopa in the caudate and putamen compared to controls, but while function in the posterior part of the putamen was severely impaired (45% of normal), function in the anterior part of the putamen and in the caudate was relatively spared (62% and 84% of normal). Mean 18F-dopa uptake in the posterior putamen was depressed to similar levels in all patients. Unlike patients with PD, the patients with progressive supranuclear palsy showed equally severe impairment of mean 18F-dopa uptake in the anterior and posterior putamen. Caudate 18F-dopa uptake was also significantly lower in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy than in patients with PD, being depressed to the same level as that in the putamen. Mean 18F-dopa uptake values in the anterior putamen and caudate in patients with multiple system atrophy lay between PD and progressive supranuclear palsy levels. Locomotor disability of individual patients with PD or multiple system atrophy correlated with decline in striatal 18F-dopa uptake, but this was not the case for the patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. We conclude that patients with PD have selective nigral pathological features with relative preservation of the dopaminergic function in the anterior putamen and caudate, whereas there is progressively more extensive nigral involvement in multiple system atrophy and progressive supranuclear palsy.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Lack of autonomic nervous dysfunction in progressive supranuclear palsy, a study of blood pressure variability.

Blood pressure and heart rate variability were analyzed in eight patients with progressive supranuclear palsy in comparison with two control groups (10 healthy patients and 10 patients with multiple system atrophy). Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded using digital photoplethysmography with the patient in supine position and during a head-up-tilt test (70 degrees for 10 minutes). Spectral analysis was performed using fast Fourier transformation for 512 consecutive systolic blood pressure and heart rate values. The head-up-tilt test induced a significant increase in systolic blood pressure in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy and in healthy patients and a significant systolic blood pressure decrease in patients with multiple system atrophy. During the head-up-tilt test, low-frequency energy of systolic blood pressure (70-130 mHz) that reflected baroreflex-dependent sympathetic tone also increased in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy and in healthy patients. By contrast, in patients with multiple system atrophy, the low-frequency energy of systolic blood pressure decreased significantly. The changes observed in the low-frequency band and the high-frequency band of heart rate (reflecting parasympathetic drive to the heart) were not different among the three groups. These data show the lack of impairment in autonomic nervous system activity in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy.

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Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging in progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinson's disease and corticobasal degeneration.

We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (1H-MRSI) to assess the in vivo cortical and subcortical neuronal involvement in progressive supranuclear palsy, Parkinson's disease and corticobasal degeneration. This technique permitted the simultaneous measurement of compounds containing N-acetylaspartate (NA), choline (Cho), creatine-phosphocreatine (Cre) and lactate, from four 15-mm slices divided into 0.84-ml single-volume elements. The study included 12 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy, 10 with Parkinson's disease, nine with corticobasal degeneration and 11 age-matched normal control subjects. Regions of interest were selected from the brainstem, caudate, thalamus, lentiform nucleus, centrum semiovale, and from frontal, parietal, precentral, temporal and occipital cortices. Progressive supranuclear palsy patients, compared with control subjects, had significantly reduced NA/Cre in the brainstem, centrum semiovale, frontal and precentral cortex, and significantly reduced NA/Cho in the lentiform nucleus. Corticobasal degeneration patients, compared with control subjects, had significantly reduced NA/Cre in the centrum semiovale, and significantly reduced NA/Cho in the lentiform nucleus and parietal cortex. There were no significant differences between Parkinson's disease patients and control subjects, or between patients groups in any individual region of interest. In the parietal cortex of corticobasal degeneration patients, NA/Cho was significantly reduced contralateral to the most affected side. There were statistically significant group differences in the regional pattern of NA/Cre and NA/Cho reduction, comparing normal control subjects with all patient groups, Parkinson's disease with corticobasal degeneration, and Parkinson's disease with progressive supranuclear palsy. Although the occurrence of significant groups differences does not imply that it is possible to differentiate between individual patients using 1H-MRSI in progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration, detection of specific cortical and subcortical patterns of neuronal involvement is possible with this technique. We suggest that this regional pattern of neuronal involvement found in progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration may help in the diagnostic evaluation of affected individuals.

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Frontal lobe function in progressive supranuclear palsy.

Performance on tasks evaluating "executive and attentional" processes presumably subserved by prefrontal cortex were compared in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy and with age- and education-matched control subjects. The results indicated that patients with progressive supranuclear palsy were particularly impaired when a task required sequential movements, conceptual shifting, monitoring the frequency with which stimuli are presented, or rapid retrieval of verbal knowledge. These deficits could not simply be accounted for by slowed information processing or by a deficit in representational knowledge. Conceivably, "weak activation" of frontal lobe representational knowledge characterized by an observed attentional deficit results in the neuropsychological impairments noted in patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. The oral administration of physostigmine, under double-blind placebo-controlled conditions, did not facilitate executive or attentional performance as evaluated by our tasks.

Affect↗

Positron emission tomography study in progressive supranuclear palsy. Brain hypometabolic pattern and clinicometabolic correlations.

In 41 patients with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) that was diagnosed on the basis of eight clinical criteria (25 patients with all eight criteria [probable PSP] and 16 with six or seven criteria [possible PSP]), we studied cerebral energy metabolism by using positron emission tomography and the fludeoxyglucose F 18 or the oxygen 15 method. Compared with age-matched controls, each of the cortical and subcortical metabolic values was significantly reduced, with a predominance in the frontal cortex, in both groups of patients with probable and possible PSP, without a difference between these two groups, suggesting similar underlying disease. The frontal metabolic value decreased with disease duration, but the relative frontal hypometabolism (expressed as the fronto-occipital metabolic ratio) was apparently already present in the early stages of the disease. The parkinsonian motor score was correlated with the caudate and thalamic metabolic values. The intellectual deterioration index was significantly correlated with both the frontal and the nonfrontal metabolic values. Finally, the frontal neuropsychological score was significantly correlated with only the fronto-occipital metabolic ratio. Hence, in PSP, a degenerative brain disease with subcortical lesions, the prominent frontal lobe-like syndrome essentially depends on the relative hypometabolism of the frontal cortex.

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Comparison of swallowing function in Parkinson's disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.

Dysphagia is common in both Parkinson's disease (PD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Although it is believed to be more common in PSP, there are no controlled data and no comparison of swallowing function between these two disorders. Our aim was to assess dysphagia and swallow function in patients with PSP and PD. Seven patients with PSP were matched to seven patients with PD on the basis of disease duration. Self-rated dysphagia, movement disorder disability, modified barium swallow results, and abnormalities noted on manometry of the lower esophageal sphincter, esophageal body, upper esophageal sphincter, and pharynx were compared between the two groups. Neither severity nor duration of dysphagia differed between the two groups. Patients with PSP had a significantly greater degree of disability [median (range) Hoehn & Yahr score, 4 (3-5) vs. 2 (1-2); P < 0.002]. Manometric abnormalities were similar for the two groups. Oral-phase abnormalities on modified barium swallow were significantly more frequent in PSP (four patients with PSP vs. no patients with PD; p < 0.005). Pharyngeal abnormalities did not differ. Modified barium-swallow scores correlated well with self-reported dysphagia severity for patients with PSP (r = 0.93; p < 0.05) but not for those with PD (r = 0.42; p = NS). The frequency of abnormalities noted during the oral phase was significantly increased in PSP. It is hypothesized that the sensory information conveyed due to this may account for the better correlation between symptoms and swallowing abnormalities and the belief that swallowing problems are more common in PSP.

Barium↗

Preferential neurodegeneration in the cervical spinal cord of progressive supranuclear palsy.

Spinal cord lesions have seldom been described in cases with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). We thus decided to analyze spinal cord lesions by microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) immunohistochemistry in six cases of PSP, five cases of Parkinson's disease (PD) and two cases of corticobasal degeneration (CBD), all of which cause parkinsonism, while six patients without any neurological disease served as controls. In the PSP cases, the MAP2 expression in the cervical spinal cords significantly decreased in the medial division of the anterior gray horn, intermediate gray and posterior gray horn, but showed no significant change in the substantia gelatinosa and lateral division of the anterior gray horn. The thoracic and lumbar spinal cords were well preserved for MAP2 immunoreactivity. In addition, the globose type neurofibrillary tangles and glial fibrillary tangles were more conspicuous in the cervical than in the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord in PSP cases. On the other hand, the PD and CBD cases showed no significant decrease of MAP2 immunoreactivity in the spinal cords. The small neurons, which are located rather selectively in the intermediate zone of the spinal cord, are considered to be mostly present in the interneurons, and are also thought to play a role in various types of focal dystonia, such as neck dystonia. We therefore consider the distinct decrease in the MAP2-positive neuronal processes in the cervical spinal cord may partly reflect the loss of interneurons and may, thereby, possibly cause nuchal dystonia.

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