Grand Total EEG Score Can Differentiate Parkinson's Disease From Parkinson-Related Disorders

Background: Semi-quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis is easy to perform and has been used to differentiate dementias, as well as idiopathic and vascular Parkinson's disease.Purpose: To study whether a semi-quantitative EEG analysis can aid in distinguishing idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) from atypical parkinsonian disorders (APDs), and furthermore, whether it can help to distinguish between APDs.Materials and Methods: A comprehensive retrospective review of charts was performed to include patients with parkinsonian disorders who had at least one EEG recording available. A modified grand total EEG (GTE) score evaluating the posterior background activity, and diffuse and focal slow wave activities was used in further analyses.Results: We analyzed data from 76 patients with a final diagnosis of either IPD, probable corticobasal degeneration (CBD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), or progressive supra-nuclear palsy (PSP). IPD patients had the lowest mean GTE score, followed those with CBD or MSA, while PSP patients scored the highest. However, none of these differences were statistically significant. A GTE score of ≤9 distinguished IPD patients from those with APD (p < 0.01) with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 33.3%.Conclusion: The modified GTE score can distinguish patients with IPD from those with CBD, PSP or MSA at a cut-off score of 9 with excellent sensitivity but poor specificity. However, this score is not able to distinguish a particular form of APD from other forms of the disorder

Efficacy of the controlled release of concentrated platelet lysate from a collagen/gelatin scaffold for dermis-like tissue regeneration.

Introduction: A collagen/gelatin scaffold (CGS) can provide a sustained release of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which promotes wound healing. However, bFGF is approved for clinical use in Japan and China only. One potential alternative to bFGF is platelet lysate (PL), a safe and easily attainable source of a wide range of growth factors necessary for tissue repair. In the present study, we investigated the use of PL with CGS to repair wounds and identified the optimal concentration of PL for wound healing. Materials and Methods: We generated PL from concentrated platelets harvested from individual healthy donors. We measured growth factors in PL. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and bFGF were selected because they were the major growth factors contained in platelets and showed the greatest ability to enhance the maturation of newly formed blood vessels. Pieces of CGS impregnated with PL solution (×1, ×2, ×3, or ×4 concentrated) or normal saline solution (NSS) were implanted into full-thickness skin defects on the backs of mice. We evaluated the wound area, neoepithelium length, and total area of newly formed capillaries in the implanted CGS. Results: Our release experiments revealed that PDGF-BB and TGF-β1 were released from CGS incubated with collagenase in a sustained manner. CGS impregnated with concentrated PL was more effective than CGS impregnated with NSS in all evaluated items. The ×2 concentrated PL accelerated wound healing and enhanced cell proliferation and vessel growth in granulation tissue. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that CGS can bind to TGF-β1 and PDGF-BB and release these growth factors in a sustained manner. ×2 concentrated PL-impregnated CGS accelerates the formation of dermis-like tissue

Laboratory diagnostic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of human leptospirosis in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, 2003-2020.

BackgroundLeptospirosis is considered an endemic disease among agricultural workers in Okinawa Prefecture, which is the southernmost part of Japan and has a subtropical climate, but data on the current status and trend of this disease are scarce.Methodology/principal findingsWe conducted a retrospective study of clinically suspected leptospirosis patients whose sample and information were sent to the Okinawa Prefectural Institute of Health and Environment from November 2003 to December 2020. Laboratory diagnosis was established using culture, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and/or microscopic agglutination test (MAT) with blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and/or urine samples. Statistical analyses were performed to compare the epidemiological information, clinical features, and sensitivities of diagnostic methods among laboratory-confirmed cases. Serogroups and the species of Leptospira isolates were determined by MAT using 13 antisera and flaB sequencing. A total of 531 clinically suspected patients were recruited, among whom 246 (46.3%) were laboratory confirmed to have leptospirosis. Among the confirmed cases, patients aged 20-29 years (22.4%) and male patients (85.7%) were the most common. The most common estimated sources of infection were recreation (44.5%) and labor (27.8%) in rivers. Approximately half of the isolates were of the L. interrogans serogroup Hebdomadis. The main clinical symptoms were fever (97.1%), myalgia (56.3%), and conjunctival hyperemia (52.2%). Headache occurred significantly more often in patients with Hebdomadis serogroup infections than those with other serogroup infections. The sensitivities of culture and PCR exceeded 65% during the first 6 days, while the sensitivity of MAT surpassed that of culture and PCR in the second week after onset. PCR using blood samples was a preferable method for the early diagnosis of leptospirosis.Conclusions/significanceThe results of this study will support clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of undifferentiated febrile patients in Okinawa Prefecture as well as patients returning from Okinawa Prefecture

Epidemiologic Study of Influenza Infection in Okinawa, Japan, from 2001 to 2007: Changing Patterns of Seasonality and Prevalence of Amantadine-Resistant Influenza A Virus▿

To clarify seasonal influenza patterns and the prevalence of amantadine-resistant influenza A viruses in Okinawa, located at the southern extremity of Japan in a subtropical climate, we conducted a laboratory-based study of influenza virus infections from 2001 to 2007. The annual outbreaks tended to show two peaks in Okinawa, in summer and winter, although the main islands of Japan, located in a temperate climate area, showed only winter influenza activity. Epidemic types and subtypes in Okinawa mostly matched those on the main islands of Japan in winter and those in Taiwan in summer. Rates of amantadine resistance dramatically increased, from 7.3% in the November 2002-to-March 2003 season to 90.0% in summer 2005, and a similarly high rate of resistance continued for the rest of the study period. Phylogenetic analysis of the hemagglutinin gene of A/H3N2 isolates collected from 2002 to 2007 revealed a monophyletic lineage that was divided into four period groups. Each group included amantadine-sensitive and -resistant viruses within independent clusters. In the November 2005-to-March 2006 season, all of the amantadine-resistant viruses were clustered in clade N, with dual (position 193 and 225) amino acid mutations in their HA1 subunits. In 2005, clade N amantadine-resistant viruses existed in Okinawa several months before the circulation of this clade on the main islands of Japan. In conclusion, surveillance in Okinawa to monitor influenza virus circulation is important for elucidating the dynamics of virus transmission in a border area between temperate and subtropical areas, as Okinawa is one of the best sentinel points in Japan