Epidemiology of Parkinson's Disease: The Rotterdam Study

At present, Parkinson's disease (PO), after Alzheimer's disease, is generally considered to be the most frequent progressive neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. Due to the growing proportion of elderly in many populations, more and more persons will be affected by this disabling disease which constitutes a large burden to man and society. Since the publication of James Parkinson's essay, almost two centuries have elapsed and, in spite of numerous efforts to unravel the nature of the disease, the etiology of PO is still unknown. Yet, the neuropathologic and biochemical changes that cause the signs of the disease seem to be settled, based on knowledge that was mainly accumulated in only the past three decades. Neuropathologically, PO is defined by selective degeneration of pigmented neurons of the pars compacta of the substantia nigra and other brainstem ganglia, with cytoplasmic inclusions, called Lewy bodies, in the surviving neurons as the hallmark. These lesions lead to a deficiency of striatal dopamine. It is now considered that parkinsonian signs only become clinically overt after dopaminergic cell loss of approximately 50% and that at that moment the endogeneous dopamine content is depleted by 80%

APOE and the risk of PD with or without dementia in a population-based study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between APOE genotype and PD with or without dementia. METHODS: The study formed part of the Rotterdam Study, a prospective, population-based cohort study on the frequency, etiology, and prognosis of chronic diseases. The cohort examined for PD consisted of 6,969 independently living or institutionalized i

Case ascertainment uncertainties in prevalence surveys of Parkinson's disease

Using unpublished data from five completed prevalence surveys of Parkinson's disease (PD), we investigated case ascertainment uncertainties that potentially have a direct effect on prevalence. These uncertainties arise from the choice of diagnostic criteria, the choice of screening method, and the amount of information lost because of nonresponse. The surveys were conducted in Argentina, India, China, Italy, and the Netherlands. Our analyses consisted of simple comparisons of prevalence results, positive predictive values (a screening measure), and nonresponse percentages. We found that (a) prevalence comparisons between surveys have diminished value if the surveys used different diagnostic criteria for PD; (b) screening performance may be affected adversely if symptom questions are answered by one family member for the entire family living together rather than by each family member individually; and (c) nonresponse from refusal or unavailability does not necessarily lead to bias, but special caution may be appropriate with prevalence results pertaining to elderly women

Prognostic factors and prediction models for hospitalisation and all-cause mortality in adults presenting to primary care with a lower respiratory tract infection: a systematic review

Objective To identify and synthesise relevant existing prognostic factors (PF) and prediction models (PM) for hospitalisation and all-cause mortality within 90 days in primary care patients with acute lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI). Design Systematic review. Methods Systematic searches of MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Library were performed. All PF and PM studies on the risk of hospitalisation or all-cause mortality within 90 days in adult primary care LRTI patients were included. The risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognostic Studies tool and Prediction Model Risk Of Bias Assessment Tool tools for PF and PM studies, respectively. The results of included PF and PM studies were descriptively summarised. Results Of 2799 unique records identified, 16 were included: 9 PF studies, 6 PM studies and 1 combination of both. The risk of bias was judged high for all studies, mainly due to limitations in the analysis domain. Based on reported multivariable associations in PF studies, increasing age, sex, current smoking, diabetes, a history of stroke, cancer or heart failure, previous hospitalisation, influenza vaccination (negative association), current use of systemic corticosteroids, recent antibiotic use, respiratory rate ≥25/min and diagnosis of pneumonia were identified as most promising candidate predictors. One newly developed PM was externally validated (c statistic 0.74, 95% CI 0.71 to 0.78) whereas the previously hospital-derived CRB-65 was externally validated in primary care in five studies (c statistic ranging from 0.72 (95% CI 0.63 to 0.81) to 0.79 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.92)). None of the PM studies reported measures of model calibration. Conclusions Implementation of existing models for individualised risk prediction of 90-day hospitalisation or mortality in primary care LRTI patients in everyday practice is hampered by incomplete assessment of model performance. The identified candidate predictors provide useful information for clinicians and warrant consideration when developing or updating PMs using state-of-the-art development and validation techniques

68Ga-PSMA Uptake in Angiolipoma

Item does not contain fulltextGa-PSMA PET/CT is an imaging technique used in staging and detection of prostate cancer. However, enhanced uptake on Ga-PSMA PET/CT scan has also been ascribed to other malignant and benign lesions. We report on a case of a 56-year-old man with treated prostate carcinoma who had a Ga-PSMA PET/CT scan for restaging. Ga-PSMA uptakes in the prostatic bed and in multiple subcutaneous lesions were seen. Histopathology of a subcutaneous lesion revealed angiolipoma. It is important to be aware of the existence of the growing amount of reports on enhanced Ga-PSMA uptake unrelated to prostate cancer

Prospective, blind study of the triple stimulation technique in the diagnosis of ALS

Contains fulltext : 89581.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic yield of magnetic cortical stimulation with the triple stimulation technique (TST) to identify upper motor neuron (UMN) involvement in patients suspected of having ALS. METHODS: Fifty-nine patients were recruited to undergo TST in addition to the standard work-up for suspected motor neuron disease. TST combines transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex with collision studies, which results in a higher sensitivity in detecting UMN involvement. Primary outcome was the number of abnormal TST results in patients with possible ALS. The positivity rate was converted to the number needed to test with TST (NN-TST) for one extra diagnosis of ALS. RESULTS: Fifty patients underwent TST. In the total group (n=59), 18 patients had a motor neuron disorder but did not fulfil criteria for 'probable' or 'definite' ALS. In four of these patients TST was abnormal (NN-TST, 4.5). One TST was erroneously interpreted as abnormal. TST findings were normal in inclusion body myositis and peripheral nerve disorders. CONCLUSION: This prospective and blind study confirms open studies of TST in the evaluation of ALS. We suggest that TST can be used to arrive at a diagnosis of 'probable' or 'definite' ALS in patients lacking UMN signs in the upper extremities