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- Ferreira, J. J., et al.
(author)
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Summary of the recommendations of the EFNS/MDS-ES review on therapeutic management of Parkinson's disease
- 2013
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In: European Journal of Neurology. - : Wiley. - 1351-5101. ; 20:1, s. 5-15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To summarize the 2010 EFNS/MDS-ES evidence-based treatment recommendations for the management of Parkinson's disease (PD). This summary includes the treatment recommendations for early and late PD. Methods: For the 2010 publication, a literature search was undertaken for articles published up to September 2009. For this summary, an additional literature search was undertaken up to December 2010. Classification of scientific evidence and the rating of recommendations were made according to the EFNS guidance. In cases where there was insufficient scientific evidence, a consensus statement ('good practice point') is made. Results and Conclusions:: For each clinical indication, a list of therapeutic interventions is provided, including classification of evidence.
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- Geser, F, et al.
(author)
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The European Multiple System Atrophy-Study Group (EMSA-SG)
- 2005
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In: Journal of Neural Transmission. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0300-9564 .- 1435-1463. ; 112:12, s. 1677-1686
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction. The European Multiple System Atrophy-Study Group (EMSA-SG) is an academic network comprising 23 centers across Europe and Israel that has constituted itself already in January 1999. This international forum of established experts under the guidance of the University Hospital of Innsbruck as coordinating center is supported by the 5th framework program of the European Union since March 2001 (QLK6-CT-2000-00661). Objectives. Primary goals of the network include (1) a central Registry for European multiple system atrophy (MSA) patients, (2) a decentralized DNA Bank, (3) the development and validation of the novel Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS), (4) the conduction of a Natural History Study (NHS), and (5) the planning or implementation of interventional therapeutic trials. Methods. The EMSA-SG Registry is a computerized data bank localized at the coordinating centre in Innsbruck collecting diagnostic and therapeutic data of MSA patients. Blood samples of patients and controls are recruited into the DNA Bank. The UMSARS is a novel specific rating instrument that has been developed and validated by the EMSA-SG. The NHS comprises assessments of basic anthropometric data as well as a range of scales including the UMSARS, Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), measures of global disability, Red Flag list, MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination), quality of live measures, i.e. EuroQoL 5D (EQ-5D) and Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36) as well as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In a subgroup of patients dysautonomic features are recorded in detail using the Queen Square Cardiovascular Autonomic Function Test Battery, the Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS) and measurements of residual urinary volume. Most of these measures are repeated at 6-monthly follow up visits for a total study period of 24 months. Surrogate markers of the disease progression are identified by the EMSA-SG using magnetic resonance and diffusion weighted imaging (MRI and DWI, respectively). Results. 412 patients have been recruited into the Registry so far. Probable MSA-P was the most common diagnosis (49% of cases). 507 patients donated DNA for research. 131 patients have been recruited into the NHS. There was a rapid deterioration of the motor disorder (in particular akinesia) by 26.1% of the UMSARS II, and - to a lesser degree - of activities of daily living by 16.8% of the UMSARS I in relation to the respective baseline scores. Motor progression was associated with low motor or global disability as well as low akinesia or cerebellar subscores at baseline. Mental function did not deteriorate during this short follow up period. Conclusion. For the first time, prospective data concerning disease progression are available. Such data about the natural history and prognosis of MSA as well as surrogate markers of disease process allow planning and implementation of multi-centre phase II/III neuroprotective intervention trials within the next years more effectively. Indeed, a trial on growth hormone in MSA has just been completed, and another on minocycline will be completed by the end of this year.
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- Schrag, A, et al.
(author)
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Health-related quality of life in multiple system atrophy
- 2006
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In: Movement Disorders. - : Wiley. - 0885-3185. ; 21:6, s. 809-815
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Although multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disorder leading to progressive disability and decreased life expectancy, little is known about patients' own evaluation of their illness and factors associated with poor health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL). We, therefore, assessed Hr-QoL and its determinants in MSA. The following scales were applied to 115 patients in the European MSA-Study Group (EMSA-SG) Natural History Study: Medical Outcome Study Short Form (SF-36), EQ-513, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Mini-Mental state examination (MMSE), Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS), Hoehn & Yahr (H&Y) Parkinson's disease staging scale, Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS), and Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS). Forty-six percent of patients had moderate to severe depression (BDI >= 17); Hr-QoL scores on the SF-36 and EQ-5D were significantly impaired. Pain, the only domain with similar scores in MSA and published PD patients, was reported more frequently in patients with MSA-P (predominantly parkinsonian motor subtype) than MSA-C (predominantly cerebellar motor subtype; 76% vs. 50%; P = 0.005). Hr-QoL scores correlated most strongly with UMSARS motor, COMPASS, and BDI scores but not with MMSE scores, age at onset, or disease duration. The COMPASS and UMSARS activities of daily living scores were moderate-to-strong predictors for the SF-36 physical summary score and the BDI and UMSARS motor scores for the SF-36 mental summary score. This report is the first study to show that Hr-QoL is significantly impaired in MSA. Although not all possible factors related to impaired Hr-QoL in MSA could be assessed, autonomic dysfunction, motor impairment, and depression were most closely associated with poor Hr-QoL, and therapeutic management, therefore, should concentrate upon these aspects of the disease. (c) 2006 Movement Disorder Society.
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- Sailer, Anna, et al.
(author)
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A genome-wide association study in multiple system atrophy
- 2016
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In: Neurology. - 0028-3878. ; 87:15, s. 1591-1598
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: To identify genetic variants that play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple system atrophy (MSA), we undertook a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Methods: We performed a GWAS with >5 million genotyped and imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 918 patients with MSA of European ancestry and 3,864 controls. MSA cases were collected from North American and European centers, one third of which were neuropathologically confirmed. Results: We found no significant loci after stringent multiple testing correction. A number of regions emerged as potentially interesting for follow-up at p < 1 × 10-6, including SNPs in the genes FBXO47, ELOVL7, EDN1, and MAPT. Contrary to previous reports, we found no association of the genes SNCA and COQ2 with MSA. Conclusions: We present a GWAS in MSA. We have identified several potentially interesting gene loci, including the MAPT locus, whose significance will have to be evaluated in a larger sample set. Common genetic variation in SNCA and COQ2 does not seem to be associated with MSA. In the future, additional samples of well-characterized patients with MSA will need to be collected to perform a larger MSA GWAS, but this initial study forms the basis for these next steps.
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- Volkmann, J, et al.
(author)
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Selecting deep brain stimulation or infusion therapies in advanced Parkinson's disease : an evidence-based review
- 2013
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In: Journal of Neurology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0340-5354 .- 1432-1459. ; 260:11, s. 2701-2714
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Motor complications in Parkinson’s disease (PD) result from the short half-life and irregular plasma fluctuations of oral levodopa. When strategies of providing more continuous dopaminergic stimulation by adjusting oral medication fail, patients may be candidates for one of three device-aided therapies: deep brain stimulation (DBS), continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion, or continuous duodenal/jejunal levodopa/carbidopa pump infusion (DLI). These therapies differ in their invasiveness, side-effect profile, and the need for nursing care. So far, very few comparative studies have evaluated the efficacy of the three device-aided therapies for specific motor problems in advanced PD. As a result, neurologists currently lack guidance as to which therapy could be most appropriate for a particular PD patient. A group of experts knowledgeable in all three therapies reviewed the currently available literature for each treatment and identified variables of clinical relevance for choosing one of the three options such as type of motor problems, age, and cognitive and psychiatric status. For each scenario, pragmatic and (if available) evidence-based recommendations are provided as to which patients could be candidates for either DBS, DLI, or subcutaneous apomorphine.
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- Wenning, Gregor K., et al.
(author)
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The natural history of multiple system atrophy: a prospective European cohort study
- 2013
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In: Lancet Neurology. - 1474-4465. ; 12:3, s. 264-274
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a fatal and still poorly understood degenerative movement disorder that is characterised by autonomic failure, cerebellar ataxia, and parkinsonism in various combinations. Here we present the final analysis of a prospective multicentre study by the European MSA Study Group to investigate the natural history of MSA. Methods Patients with a clinical diagnosis of MSA were recruited and followed up clinically for 2 years. Vital status was ascertained 2 years after study completion. Disease progression was assessed using the unified MSA rating scale (UMSARS), a disease-specific questionnaire that enables the semiquantitative rating of autonomic and motor impairment in patients with MSA. Additional rating methods were applied to grade global disease severity, autonomic symptoms, and quality of life. Survival was calculated using a Kaplan-Meier analysis and predictors were identified in a Cox regression model. Group differences were analysed by parametric tests and non-parametric tests as appropriate. Sample size estimates were calculated using a paired two-group t test. Findings 141 patients with moderately severe disease fulfilled the consensus criteria for MSA. Mean age at symptom onset was 56.2 (SD 8.4) years. Median survival from symptom onset as determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis was 9.8 years (95% CI 8.1-11.4). The parkinsonian variant of MSA (hazard ratio [HR] 2.08,95% CI 1.09-3.97; p=0.026) and incomplete bladder emptying (HR 2.10,1.02-4.30; p=0.044) predicted shorter survival. 24-month progression rates of UMSARS activities of daily living, motor examination, and total scores were 49% (9.4 [SD 5.9]), 74% (12.9 [8.5]), and 57% (21.9 [11.9]), respectively, relative to baseline scores. Autonomic symptom scores progressed throughout the follow-up. Shorter symptom duration at baseline (OR 0.68, 0.5-0.9; p=0.006) and absent levodopa response (OR 3.4, 1.1-10.2; p=0.03) predicted rapid UMSARS progression. Sample size estimation showed that an interventional trial with 258 patients (129 per group) would be able to detect a 30% effect size in 1-year UMSARS motor examination decline rates at 80% power. Interpretation Our prospective dataset provides new insights into the evolution of MSA based on a follow-up period that exceeds that of previous studies. It also represents a useful resource for patient counselling and planning of multicentre trials.
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- Wilms, H., et al.
(author)
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Suppression of Map Kinases Inhibits Microglial Activation and Attenuates Neuronal Cell Death Induced by Alpha-Synuclein Protofibrils
- 2009
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In: International Journal of Immunopathology and Pharmacology. - 0394-6320. ; 22:4, s. 897-909
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- alpha-Synuclein (alpha-Syn) accounts, as a major component of Lewy bodies (LB), for the filamentous deposits in many cases of neurodegenerative diseases. Yet, little is known about the molecular mechanisms of neuronal loss in these diseases. The correlation between alpha-Syn oligomerization/aggregation and pathologies raises the key question of which molecular form of alpha-Syn (i.e. monomeric alpha-Syn, protofibrils or mature fibrils) represents the damage-inducing culprit in the scenario of synucleinopathies. We show that human alpha-Syn protofibrils (PFs) are potent activators of parallel proinflammatory signalling pathways (p38 and ERK1/2 MAP kinases and NF-kappa B) in microglial cells in vitro. Furthermore, stereotactic injection of alpha-Syn PFs into the substantia nigra of adult rats leads to a profound activation of microglia and adjacent neuronal cell loss, which can be attenuated by the MAP kinase inhibitor semapimod. We propose that the neurodegenerative process of alpha-synucleinopathies involves microglial activation through alpha-Syn released or extruded from cells with pathogenic alpha-Syn metabolism. Compounds that inhibit the MAPK/NF-kappa B pathways might be a promising pharmacological strategy for the treatment of the inflammatory component of synucleinopathies including PD.
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