Search

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common movement disorder for which diagnosis mainly depends on the medical history and clinical symptoms. Exosomes are now considered an additional mechanism for intercellular communication, allowing cells to exchange proteins, lipids, and genetic material. Long noncoding (lnc) RNA in exosomes plays a critical role in many diseases, including neurodegenerative disease. Aim: To study expression differences for lncRNAs in peripheral blood exosomes of PD patients compared with healthy individuals and to look for lncRNAs that might be related to the pathogenesis of PD. Materials and Methods: We recruited PD patients along with age‐ and sex‐matched healthy individuals as healthy controls and evaluated levels of lncRNAs extracted from exosomes in plasma samples via next‐generation sequencing and real‐time quantitative PCR. Correlation analysis was conducted for the clinical characteristics of PD patients and the expression of selected lncRNAs. Results: We found 15 upregulated and 24 downregulated exosomal lncRNAs in the PD group. According to bioinformatics analyses, we chose lnc‐MKRN2‐42:1 for further study. Interestingly, lnc‐MKRN2‐42:1 was positively correlated with the MDS‐UPDRS III score for PD patients. Conclusion: Our study suggested that lnc‐MKRN2‐42:1 may be involved in the occurrence and development of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the efficacy of subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus internus (GPi) deep brain stimulation (DBS) on reducing levodopa‐induced dyskinesia (LID) in Parkinson's disease, and to explore the potential underlying mechanisms. Methods: We retrospectively assessed clinical outcomes in 43 patients with preoperative LID who underwent DBS targeting the STN (20/43) or GPi (23/43). The primary clinical outcome was the change from baseline in the Unified Dyskinesia Rating Scale (UDysRS) and secondary outcomes included changes in the total daily levodopa equivalent dose, the drug‐off Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale Part Ⅲ at the last follow‐up (median, 18 months), adverse effects, and programming settings. Correlation analysis was used to find potential associated factors that could be used to predict the efficacy of DBS for dyskinesia management. Results: Compared to baseline, both the STN group and the GPi group showed significant improvement in LID with 60.73 ± 40.29% (mean ± standard deviation) and 93.78 ± 14.15% improvement, respectively, according to the UDysRS score. Furthermore, GPi‐DBS provided greater clinical benefit in the improvement of dyskinesia (P < 0.05) compared to the STN. Compared to the GPi group, the levodopa equivalent dose reduction was greater in the STN group at the last follow‐up (43.81% vs. 13.29%, P < 0.05). For the correlation analysis, the improvement in the UDysRS outcomes were significantly associated with a reduction in levodopa equivalent dose in the STN group (r = 0.543, P = 0.013), but not in the GPi group (r = −0.056, P = 0.801). Interpretation: Both STN and GPi‐DBS have a beneficial effect on LID but GPi‐DBS provided greater anti‐dyskinetic effects. Dyskinesia suppression for STN‐DBS may depend on the reduction of levodopa equivalent dose. Unlike the STN, GPi‐DBS might exert a direct and independent anti‐dyskinesia effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]