Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2019
Searching for novel cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of tau pathology in frontotemporal dementia: an elusive quest.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a pathologically heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder associated usually with tau or TDP-43 pathology, although some phenotypes such as logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia are more commonly associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology. Currently, there are no biomarkers able to diagnose the underlying pathology during life. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of novel tau species within cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as biomarkers for tau pathology in FTD. ⋯ Despite investigating multiple novel CSF tau fragments, none show promise as an FTD biomarker and so the quest for in vivo markers of FTLD-tau pathology continues.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2019
Factors associated with and long-term outcome of benign multiple sclerosis: a nationwide cohort study.
Benign multiple sclerosis (BMS) is often defined by the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score of ≤3.0 after ≥15 years of disease duration. This classification's clinical relevance remains unclear as benign patients may suffer other impairments and advance towards a progressive course, prompting our objective to holistically investigate factors associated with BMS and its long-term prognosis. ⋯ Patients with BMS have a better disease course as they progress more slowly at the group level in all respects. Lack of an association with major genetic risk factors indicates that MS course is most likely influenced by either environmental factor(s) or genetic factors outside the HLA region.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2019
Proximity extension assay testing reveals novel diagnostic biomarkers of atypical parkinsonian syndromes.
The high degree of clinical overlap between atypical parkinsonian syndromes (APS) and Parkinson's disease (PD) makes diagnosis challenging. We aimed to identify novel diagnostic protein biomarkers of APS using multiplex proximity extension assay (PEA) testing. ⋯ PEA testing has identified potential novel diagnostic biomarkers of APS.
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J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. · Jul 2019
Open-label trial of anterior limb of internal capsule-nucleus accumbens deep brain stimulation for obsessive-compulsive disorder: insights gained.
For more than 15 years, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has served as a last-resort treatment for severe treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). ⋯ We conclude that ALIC-NAcc-DBS is a well-tolerated and promising last-resort treatment option for OCD. The cause of variability in the outcome remains unclear, and the aspect of reversibility must be examined critically. The present data from one of the largest samples of patients with OCD treated with DBS thus far support the results of previous studies with smaller samples.