Spinal dystonia and other spinal movement disorders

While traditionally considered a disorder of the basal ganglia, brainstem, and cerebellum, multiple reports have shown that spinal cord pathologies may lead to dystonia. In this article, we first discuss various spinal movement disorders and the differences between tonic spasms, spinal dystonia, spinal myoclonus, spinal tremors, and paroxysmal dyskinesia. We review potential pathogenesis of spinal dystonia. We then focus on reports of dystonia secondary to spinal cord demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders. We conclude by discussing the potential treatment options for spinal dystonia

PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF QUADRATURE CHAOS SHIFT

One of the most famous techniques of non-coherent differential chaos shift keying (DCSK) is Quadrature chaos shift keying (QCSK) system, this system suffered from lowering the data rate and increasing the bit energy during the bit transmission even though its rate doubling the one of the DCSK. Short reference (SR) algorithm is proposed for the QCSK system to design the SR-QCSK communication system that enhances these drawbacks. The main idea of the short reference technique is minimizing the length of the reference chaotic signal (β) at a transmitter by a factor P comparing to produce R samples for the new reference signal while the length of the information-bearing signal remained unchanged, this occurs by duplicating the reference signal P times to get the same length as the conventional QCSK. Therefore, the symbol duration is reduced from 2βTc to (R+β)Tc. The data rate and energy saving improvement factor in a percent form is derived and compared with the QCSK and DCSK systems. Also, the BER analytical expression is derived for the SR-QCSK in additive white Gaussian noise and Rayleigh fading channel. The experimental simulation results proved that the theory derivation gives a good analysis tracking for the BER performance. The SR-QCSK system is compared with other DCSK techniques and the simulation results show that it has a superior performance in the multipath Rayleigh fading channel

Satralizumab Treatment in Adult Patients with AQP4-IgG-Seropositive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder Switching From Other Therapies: A Case Series

The US FDA approved satralizumab for use in adult patients with aquaporin 4 autoantibody-positive (AQP4-IgG+) neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in 2020, but real-world data are limited. The objective of this case series is to describe the response to satralizumab in adult patients with AQP4-IgG+ NMOSD who previously received biologic or nonbiologic NMOSD treatment in clinical practice

Predictors of Functional and Quality of Life Outcomes following Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery in Parkinson’s Disease Patients: Disease, Patient, and Surgical Factors

Objective. The primary objective was to evaluate predictors of quality of life (QOL) and functional outcomes following deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. The secondary objective was to identify predictors of global improvement. Methods. PD patients who underwent DBS at our Center from 2006 to 2011 were evaluated by chart review and email/phone survey. Postoperative UPDRS II and EQ-5D were analyzed using simple linear regression adjusting for preoperative score. For global outcomes, we utilized the Patient Global Impression of Change Scale (PGIS) and the Clinician Global Impression of Change Scale (CGIS). Results. There were 130 patients in the dataset. Preoperative and postoperative UPDRS II and EQ-5D were available for 45 patients, PGIS for 67 patients, and CGIS for 116 patients. Patients with falls/postural instability had 6-month functional scores and 1-year QOL scores that were significantly worse than patients without falls/postural instability. For every 1-point increase in preoperative UPDRS III and for every 1-unit increase in body mass index (BMI), the 6-month functional scores significantly worsened. Patients with tremors, without dyskinesia, and without gait-freezing were more likely to have “much” or “very much” improved CGIS. Conclusions. Presence of postural instability, high BMI, and worse baseline motor scores were the greatest predictors of poorer functional and QOL outcomes after DBS

Autoimmune encephalitis

The objective of this paper is to evaluate available evidence for each step in autoimmune encephalitis management and provide expert opinion when evidence is lacking. The paper approaches autoimmune encephalitis as a broad category rather than focusing on individual antibody syndromes. Core authors from the Autoimmune Encephalitis Alliance Clinicians Network reviewed literature and developed the first draft. Where evidence was lacking or controversial, an electronic survey was distributed to all members to solicit individual responses. Sixty-eight members from 17 countries answered the survey. The most popular bridging therapy was oral prednisone taper chosen by 38% of responders while rituximab was the most popular maintenance therapy chosen by 46%. Most responders considered maintenance immunosuppression after a second relapse in patients with neuronal surface antibodies (70%) or seronegative autoimmune encephalitis (61%) as opposed to those with onconeuronal antibodies (29%). Most responders opted to cancer screening for 4 years in patients with neuronal surface antibodies (49%) o

The risk of infections for multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder disease-modifying treatments: Eighth European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Focused Workshop Review. April 2021

Over the recent years, the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) has evolved very rapidly and a large number of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) are now available. However, most DMTs are associated with adverse events, the most frequent of which being infections. Consideration of all DMT-associated risks facilitates development of risk mitigation strategies. An international focused workshop with expert-led discussions was sponsored by the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and was held in April 2021 to review our current knowledge about the risk of infections associated with the use of DMTs for people with MS and NMOSD and corresponding risk mitigation strategies. The workshop addressed DMT-associated infections in specific populations, such as children and pregnant women with MS, or people with MS who have other comorbidities or live in regions with an exceptionally high infection burden. Finally, we reviewed the topic of DMT-associated infectious risks in the context of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Herein, we summarize available evidence and identify gaps in knowledge which justify further research

The risk of infections for multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder disease-modifying treatments: Eighth European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis Focused Workshop Review. April 2021

reserved49: Over the recent years, the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) has evolved very rapidly and a large number of disease-modifying treatments (DMTs) are now available. However, most DMTs are associated with adverse events, the most frequent of which being infections. Consideration of all DMT-associated risks facilitates development of risk mitigation strategies. An international focused workshop with expert-led discussions was sponsored by the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS) and was held in April 2021 to review our current knowledge about the risk of infections associated with the use of DMTs for people with MS and NMOSD and corresponding risk mitigation strategies. The workshop addressed DMT-associated infections in specific populations, such as children and pregnant women with MS, or people with MS who have other comorbidities or live in regions with an exceptionally high infection burden. Finally, we reviewed the topic of DMT-associated infectious risks in the context of the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Herein, we summarize available evidence and identify gaps in knowledge which justify further research.mixedTur, Carmen; Dubessy, Anne-Laure; Otero-Romero, Susana; Amato, Maria Pia; Derfuss, Tobias; Di Pauli, Franziska; Iacobaeus, Ellen; Mycko, Marcin; Abboud, Hesham; Achiron, Anat; Bellinvia, Angelo; Boyko, Alexey; Casanova, Jean-Laurent; Clifford, David; Dobson, Ruth; Farez, Mauricio F; Filippi, Massimo; Fitzgerald, Kathryn C; Fonderico, Mattia; Gouider, Riadh; Hacohen, Yael; Hellwig, Kerstin; Hemmer, Bernhard; Kappos, Ludwig; Ladeira, Filipa; Lebrun-Frénay, Christine; Louapre, Céline; Magyari, Melinda; Mehling, Matthias; Oreja-Guevara, Celia; Pandit, Lekha; Papeix, Caroline; Piehl, Fredrik; Portaccio, Emilio; Ruiz-Camps, Isabel; Selmaj, Krzysztof; Simpson-Yap, Steve; Siva, Aksel; Sorensen, Per Soelberg; Sormani, Maria Pia; Trojano, Maria; Vaknin-Dembinsky, Adi; Vukusic, Sandra; Weinshenker, Brian; Wiendl, Heinz; Winkelmann, Alexander; Zuluaga Rodas, María Isabel; Tintoré, Mar; Stankoff, BrunoTur, Carmen; Dubessy, Anne-Laure; Otero-Romero, Susana; Amato, Maria Pia; Derfuss, Tobias; Di Pauli, Franziska; Iacobaeus, Ellen; Mycko, Marcin; Abboud, Hesham; Achiron, Anat; Bellinvia, Angelo; Boyko, Alexey; Casanova, Jean-Laurent; Clifford, David; Dobson, Ruth; Farez, Mauricio F; Filippi, Massimo; Fitzgerald, Kathryn C; Fonderico, Mattia; Gouider, Riadh; Hacohen, Yael; Hellwig, Kerstin; Hemmer, Bernhard; Kappos, Ludwig; Ladeira, Filipa; Lebrun-Frénay, Christine; Louapre, Céline; Magyari, Melinda; Mehling, Matthias; Oreja-Guevara, Celia; Pandit, Lekha; Papeix, Caroline; Piehl, Fredrik; Portaccio, Emilio; Ruiz-Camps, Isabel; Selmaj, Krzysztof; Simpson-Yap, Steve; Siva, Aksel; Sorensen, Per Soelberg; Sormani, Maria Pia; Trojano, Maria; Vaknin-Dembinsky, Adi; Vukusic, Sandra; Weinshenker, Brian; Wiendl, Heinz; Winkelmann, Alexander; Zuluaga Rodas, María Isabel; Tintoré, Mar; Stankoff, Brun