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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients show a higher prevalence of Lewy body disease than the general population. Additionally, parkinsonian features were found in about 30% of ALS patients. We aimed to explore the frequency of Parkinson's disease (PD)-causative genes in ALS patients, compared to AD and healthy controls (HCs). We used next-generation sequencing multigene panels by analyzing SNCA, LRRK2, PINK1, PARK2, PARK7, SYNJ1, CHCHD2, PLA2G6, GCH1, ATP13A2, DNAJC6 and FBXO genes. GBA gene, a risk factor for PD, was also analyzed. In total, 130 ALS and 100 AD patients were investigated. PD-related genes were found to be altered in 26.2% of ALS, 20% of AD patients and 19.2% of HCs. Autosomal recessive genes were significantly more involved in ALS as compared to AD and HCs (p = 0.021). PARK2 variants were more frequent in ALS than in AD and HCs, although not significantly. However, the p.Arg402Cys variant was increased in ALS than in HCs (p = 0.025). This finding is consistent with current literature, as parkin levels were found to be decreased in ALS animal models and patients. Our results confirm the possible role of PD-related genes as risk modifier in ALS pathogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Axonal polyneuropathy is the main feature of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv). Nerve morphological abnormalities have been reported, but longitudinal changes have never been assessed. We performed a prospective widespread nerve ultrasound evaluation and nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) was compared with baseline data in both ATTRv patients and pre-symptomatic carriers. Thirty-eight subjects were evaluated (mean follow-up 17.1 months), among them 21 had polyneuropathy while 17 were pre-symptomatic carriers. CSA significantly increased at brachial plexus in both groups (p = 0.008 and p = 0.012) pointing to progressive brachial plexus enlargement as a longitudinal biomarker of both disease progression and disease occurrence in pre-symptomatic carriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a validated biofluid marker of neuroaxonal damage with great potential for monitoring patients with neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to further validate the clinical utility of plasma (p) vs. CSF (c) NfL for distinguishing patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) from ALS mimics. We also assessed the association of biomarker values with clinical variables and survival and established the longitudinal changes of pNfL during the disease course. Methods: We studied 231 prospectively enrolled patients with suspected ALS who underwent a standardized protocol including neurological examination, electromyography, brain MRI, and lumbar puncture. Patients who received an alternative clinical diagnosis were considered ALS mimics. We classified the patients based on the disease progression rate (DPR) into fast (DPR > 1), intermediate (DPR 0.5–1), and slow progressors (DPR < 0.5). All patients were screened for the most frequent ALS-associated genes. Plasma and CSF samples were retrospectively analyzed; NfL concentrations were measured with the SIMOA platform using a commercial kit. Results: ALS patients (n = 171) showed significantly higher pNfL (p < 0.0001) and cNfL (p < 0.0001) values compared to ALS mimics (n = 60). Both cNfL and pNfL demonstrated a good diagnostic value in discriminating the two groups, although cNfL performed slightly better (cNfL: AUC 0.924 ± 0.022, sensitivity 86.8%, specificity 92.4; pNfL: AUC 0.873 ± 0.036, sensitivity 84.7%, specificity 83.3%). Fast progressors showed higher cNfL and pNfL as compared to intermediate (p = 0.026 and p = 0.001) and slow progressors (both p < 0.001). Accordingly, ALS patients with higher baseline cNfL and pNfL levels had a shorter survival (highest tertile of cNfL vs. lowest tertile, HR 4.58, p = 0.005; highest tertile of pNfL vs. lowest tertile, HR 2.59, p = 0.015). Moreover, there were positive associations between cNfL and pNfL levels and the number of body regions displaying UMN signs (rho = 0.325, p < 0.0001; rho = 0.308, p = 0.001). Finally, longitudinal analyses in 57 patients showed stable levels of pNfL during the disease course. Conclusion: Both cNfL and pNfL have excellent diagnostic and prognostic performance for symptomatic patients with ALS. The stable longitudinal trajectory of pNfL supports its use as a marker of drug effect in clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: 5–10% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients presented a positive family history (fALS). More than 30 genes have been identified in association with ALS/frontotemporal dementia (FTD) spectrum, with four major genes accounting for 60–70% of fALS. In this paper, we aimed to assess the contribution to the pathogenesis of major and rare ALS/FTD genes in ALS patients. Methods: We analyzed ALS and ALS/FTD associated genes by direct sequencing or next-generation sequencing multigene panels in ALS patients. Results: Genetic abnormalities in ALS major genes included repeated expansions of hexanucleotide in C9orf72 gene (7.3%), mutations in SOD1 (4.9%), FUS (2.1%), and TARDBP (2.4%), whereas variants in rare ALS/FTD genes affected 15.5% of subjects overall, most frequently involving SQSTM1 (3.4%), and CHMP2B (1.9%). We found clustering of variants in ALS major genes in patients with a family history for "pure" ALS, while ALS/FTD related genes mainly occurred in patients with a family history for other neurodegenerative diseases (dementia and/or parkinsonism). Conclusions: Our data support the presence of two different genetic components underlying ALS pathogenesis, related to the presence of a family history for ALS or other neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, family history may help in optimizing the genetic screening protocol to be applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ile68Leu transthyretin-related amyloidosis (ATTR) is known as a mainly or exclusively cardiogenic variant. We hypothesized that an accurate specialized neurological evaluation could reveal a consistent frequency of mixed phenotypes. Forty-six consecutive subjects with transthyretin (TTR) Ile68Leu (p.Ile88Leu) mutation (29 patients and 17 unaffected carriers) underwent an in-depth cardiac and neurologic evaluation at a single center. All 29 patients showed cardiac involvement. In 20 (69%) cases, it was associated with neurological abnormalities (i.e. a mixed phenotype): 10 (35% of the total) had signs and symptoms of neuropathy, 5 (17%) had abnormalities at the neurologic specialist examination but without symptoms, and 5 (17%) had abnormal nerve conduction study only. None of the asymptomatic carriers showed neurological abnormalities or cardiac involvement. The Neuropathy Impairment Score was > 5 in seven patients at baseline, and became >5 in six more patients during follow-up. The probability of experiencing a major adverse cardiac event (MACE) during follow-up was higher in the mixed than cardiologic phenotype (p = 0.026). Age and phenotype were independent prognostic predictors of MACE. At least two-thirds of patients with Ile68Leu ATTR and amyloidotic cardiomyopathy show an associated – definite or probable – neurologic impairment of variable degree if accurately evaluated in a neurologic setting. This proportion can rise during follow-up. The mixed phenotype carries a worse prognosis compared to the exclusively cardiologic one. These observations show that more patients could be eligible for treatment with gene silencers than currently indicated and highlight the need for an in-depth and continuous multidisciplinary evaluation of Ile68Leu ATTR patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diagnostic delay of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv, v for variant) prevents timely treatment and, therefore, concurs to the mortality of the disease. The aim of the present study was to explore with nerve ultrasound (US) possible red flags for early diagnosis in ATTRv patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and/or polyneuropathy and in pre-symptomatic carriers. Methods: Patients and pre-symptomatic carriers with a TTR gene mutation were enrolled from seven Italian centers. Severity of CTS was assessed with neurophysiology and clinical evaluation. Median nerve cross-section area (CSA) was measured with US in ATTRv carriers with CTS (TTR-CTS). One thousand one hundred ninety-six idiopathic CTS were used as controls. Nerve US was also performed in several nerve trunks (median, ulnar, radial, brachial plexi, tibial, peroneal, sciatic, sural) in ATTRv patients with polyneuropathy and in pre-symptomatic carriers. Results: Sixty-two subjects (34 men, 28 women, mean age 59.8 years ± 12) with TTR gene mutation were recruited. With regard to CTS, while in idiopathic CTS there was a direct correlation between CTS severity and median nerve CSA (r = 0.55, p < 0.01), in the subgroup of TTR-CTS subjects (16 subjects, 5 with bilateral CTS) CSA did not significantly correlate with CTS severity (r = − 0.473). ATTRv patients with polyneuropathy showed larger CSA than pre-symptomatic carriers in several nerve sites, more pronounced at brachial plexi (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The present study identifies nerve morphological US patterns that may help in the early diagnosis (morpho-functional dissociation of median nerve in CTS) and monitoring of pre-symptomatic TTR carriers (larger nerve CSA at proximal nerve sites, especially at brachial plexi). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurofilament light chain protein (NfL) is currently the most accurate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in terms of both diagnostic and prognostic value, but the mechanism underlying its increase is still a matter of debate. Similarly, emerging CSF biomarkers of neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation showed promising results, although further studies are needed to clarify their clinical and pathophysiological roles. In the present study we compared the diagnostic accuracy of CSF NfL, phosphorylated (p)-tau/total (t)-tau ratio, chitinase-3-like protein 1 (YKL-40) and chitotriosidase 1 (CHIT1), in healthy controls (n = 43) and subjects with ALS (n = 80) or ALS mimics (n = 46). In ALS cases, we also investigated the association between biomarker levels and clinical variables, the extent of upper motor neuron (UMN) and lower motor neuron (LMN) degeneration, and denervation activity through electromyography (EMG). ALS patients showed higher levels of CSF NfL, YKL-40, CHIT1, and lower values of p-tau/t-tau ratio compared to both controls and ALS mimics. Among all biomarkers, NfL yielded the highest diagnostic performance (> 90% sensitivity and specificity) and was the best predictor of disease progression rate and survival in ALS. NfL levels showed a significant correlation with the extent of LMN involvement, whereas YKL-40 levels increased together with the number of areas showing both UMN and LMN damage. EMG denervation activity did not correlate with any CSF biomarker change. These findings confirm the highest value of NfL among currently available CSF biomarkers for the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of ALS and contribute to the understanding of the pathophysiological and electrophysiological correlates of biomarker changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To test if and how chemotherapy‐induced peripheral neurotoxicity (CIPN) is perceived differently by patients and physicians, making assessment and interpretation challenging. We performed a secondary analysis of the CI‐PeriNomS study which included 281 patients with stable CIPN. We tested: (a) the association between patients' perception of activity limitation in performing eight common tasks and neurological impairment and (b) how the responses to questions related to these daily activities are interpreted by the treating oncologist. To achieve this, we compared patients' perception of their activity limitation with neurological assessment and the oncologists' blind interpretation. Distribution of the scores attributed by oncologists to each daily life maximum limitation ("impossible") generated three groups: Group 1 included limitations oncologists attributed mainly to motor impairment; Group 2 ones mainly attributed to sensory impairment and Group 3 ones with uncertain motor and sensory impairment. Only a subset of questions showed a significant trend between severity in subjective limitation, reported by patients, and neurological impairment. In Group 1, neurological examination confirmed motor impairment in only 51%‐65% of patients; 76%‐78% of them also had vibration perception impairment. In Group 2, sensory impairment ranged from 84% to 100%; some degree of motor impairment occurred in 43%‐56% of them. In Group 3 strength reduction was observed in 49%‐50% and sensory perception was altered in up to 82%. Interpretation provided by the panel of experienced oncologists was inconsistent with the neurological impairment. These observations highlight the need of a core set of outcome measures for future CIPN trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) is a rare, chronic, motor neuropathy that progressively impairs physical functioning and quality of life. Randomised controlled trials have shown that high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is superior to placebo in improving muscle strength and disability, but many patients require periodic infusions to maintain long-term improvement. This observational, multicentre, retrospective study investigated the efficacy and tolerability of human normal immunoglobulin (Ig VENA) at high intravenous infusion rates in 20 MMN patients (14 male, 6 female). Thirty days after the first infusion, there was an improvement of at least 1 point in two muscles compared to baseline on the Medical Research Council (MRC) scale and of 1 point in the ONLS (Overall Neuropathy Limitation Scale) scale in 15 patients (75%) and 10 patients (50%), respectively; 45% improved on both scales. At 6 months, 100% of 12 patients had improved on the MRC and 79% of 14 patients had improved on the ONLS scale; 83% improved on both scales. All reported adverse drug reactions (ADR) were mild, transient and possibly related to the study drug. Four patients (20%) reported ADRs, three reported headache and one fever. There were no serious or unexpected ADRs. By confirming that high-dose Ig VENA is efficacious and well tolerated, this study adds to the evidence base for IVIg in MMN and potentially increases clinicians' and patients' choice of therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report clinical, neurophysiologic, and genetic features of an Italian series of patients with Lafora disease ( LD) to identify distinguishing features of those with a slowly progressive course. Twenty-three patients with LD (17 female; 6 male) were recruited. Mean age (± SD) at the disease onset was 14.5 ± 3.9 years and mean follow-up duration was 13.2 ± 8.0 years. NHLRC1 mutations were detected in 18 patients; EPM2A mutations were identified in 5. Patients who maintained >10 years gait autonomy were labeled as 'mild' and were compared with the remaining LD patients with a typical course. Six of 23 patients were mild and presented significantly delay in the age at onset, lower neurologic disability score at 4 years after the onset, less severe seizure phenotype, lower probability of showing both photoparoxysmal response on electroencephalography ( EEG) and giant somatosensory evoked potentials, as compared to patients with typical LD. However, in both mild and typical LD patients, EEG showed disorganization of background activity and frequent epileptiform abnormalities. Mild LD patients had NHLRC1 mutations and five of six carried homozygous or compound heterozygous D146N mutation. This mutation was found in none of the patients with typical LD. The occurrence of specific NHLRC1 mutations in patients with mild LD should be taken into account in clinical practice for appropriate management and counseling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dystonia is a disabling and disfiguring disorder that can often affect many aspects of patients' daily lives, and lower their self-esteem. To date, quality of life (QoL) has been assessed in dystonic patients using generic measures that do not address the specific problems of this diagnostic group. Recently, two disease-specific scales 'The Cervical Dystonia Impact Profile (CDIP-58)' and the 'Craniocervical Dystonia Questionnaire (CDQ-24)' were validated for measuring QoL in craniocervical dystonia patients. No disease-specific scales for QoL for dystonic patients are currently available in Italian. The aim of our study was to produce and validate the Italian version of the CDIP-58 and CDQ-24. We obtained the Italian version of CDQ-24 and CDIP-58 with a back-translation design. Both scales were applied to a population of 94 craniocervical dystonia patients along with the Short Form 36 health-survey questionnaire (SF-36), both before and 4 weeks after botulinum toxin therapy. A group of 65 controls matched for sex, age and comorbidity underwent the SF-36. Internal consistency was satisfactory for all subscales. Both the CDIP-58 and CDQ-24 showed moderate to high correlations with similar items of the SF-36. Sensitivity to change was confirmed by highly significant improvements in all CDQ-24 subscales and by moderate improvements in three out of eight CDIP-58 subscales and total score. This is the first Italian study on QoL in dystonia patients. We validated the Italian version of two disease-specific questionnaires to evaluate QoL in craniocervical dystonia patients. These scales could be useful for both clinical practice and clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented which is concerned with a case of severe peripheral motor neuropathy in a patient with Hodgkin lymphoma who was treated with brentuximab vedotin.

Mutations in the superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) gene occur in some forms of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To date about 150 mutations are known to involve this gene. Here we describe a novel missense mutation in exon 5 of the SOD1 gene in an Italian family with two members affected by ALS. Sequencing of the SOD1 gene was performed on 11 members of the family and 75 healthy controls. Electron microscopy was also performed on one ALS patient. We identified a heterozygous mutation in codon 137 leading to substitution of threonine by alanine. Further studies are needed to clarify the role of this alteration in ALS aetiopathogensis; nevertheless, T137A seems to represent a new missense mutation of the SOD1 gene in ALS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents several abstracts related to the peripheral nervous system including one on heroin induced focal myopathy, one on Schwann cell myelination and one on NK cells and NK cell receptors in patients with anti-mag neuropathy treated with rituximab, which were presented at a meeting of the Associazione Italiana Sistema Nervoso Periferico which was held on April 28-30, 2011 in Bologna Italy.

The aim of this study was to validate the Italian version of the Neuropathic Pain Symptom Inventory (NPSI) in patients with neuropathic pain due to peripheral nerve diseases, and also to evaluate the validity of a new NPSI score: a frequency weighted NPSI score (NPSI-FW). First, the original version of the NPSI was translated into Italian. Then the validity and reliability of the Italian NPSI (I-NPSI) were tested in 392 Italian patients consecutively referred to 16 Italian outpatient services for peripheral nerve diseases, by correlating the I-NPSI scores with other pain scales. The repeatability and responsiveness were assessed. A significant correlation between the I-NPSI scores and all the other pain measures was seen. Reproducibility and responsiveness were good. Our study shows the validity of the I-NPSI and demonstrates its reliability for assessing neuropathic pain in patients with peripheral nerve diseases. The I-NPSI scores represent reliable measurements to assess neuropathic symptoms and effectiveness of treatment on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropathological description of the brain in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1(SCA1) is limited to a few cases. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) enables an unbiased in vivo whole-brain quantitative analysis of regional differences in gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volume. We assessed with VBM the structural damage in patients with genetically confirmed SCA1. Fifteen SCA1 patients and 15 age-matched healthy controls underwent MR examination with acquisition of high-resolution T1-weighted images. The results were correlated with the disease duration and severity of the clinical deficit assessed with the International Cerebellar Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS) and Inherited Ataxia Clinical Rating Scale (IACRS). As compared to controls, patients with SCA1 showed a significant (p < 0.05 corrected for multiple comparison) symmetric loss of volume of the GM in the rostral cerebellar vermis and paramedian portions of the anterior cerebellar lobes. WM was decreased in the peridentate region and middle cerebellar peduncles but not in the pons. No GM or WM volume loss was found in the cerebral hemispheres. The cerebellar and brainstem GM and WM volume loss correlated with disease duration and the ICARS and IACRS scores. VBM confirms that atrophy predominantly involves the brainstem and cerebellum in SCA1. The correlation with the clinical features indicates that VBM might be useful to monitor disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tosi P, Zamagni E, Cellini C, Plasmati R, Cangini D, Tacchetti P, Perrone G, Pastorelli F, Tura S, Baccarani M, Cavo M. Neurological toxicity of long-term (>1 yr) thalidomide therapy in patients with multiple myeloma.Eur J Haematol 2005: 74: 212–216.© Blackwell Munksgaard 2005.Objective: Thalidomide is remarkably active in advanced relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM), so that its use has been recently proposed either in newly diagnosed patients or as maintenance treatment after conventional or high-dose therapy. This latter therapeutic approach has risen the concern of side-effects of long-term therapy with this drug.Methods: We analysed long-term toxicity of 40 patients (27 M, 13 F, median age = 61.5 yr) who received salvage therapy with thalidomide ± dexamethasone for longer than 12 months (median 15, range 12–44) at our centre. All the patients had achieved at least a stable disease upon treatment with thalidomide alone (200–400 mg/d,n = 20) or thalidomide (200 mg/d) and dexamethasone (40 mg/d for 4 d every 4 wk) (n = 20).Results and conclusions: Neurotoxicity was the most troublesome and frequent toxic effect that was observed after long-term treatment, the incidence averaging 75%. Among these 30 patients symptoms included paraesthesias, tremor and dizziness. Neurotoxicity was grade 1 in six patients (15%); grade 2 in 13 patients (32.5%), thus determining thalidomide dose reduction to 100 mg/d; and grade 3 in 11 patients (27.5%) who had subsequently to interrupt therapy despite their response. Electromyographic study, performed in patients with grade≥2 neurotoxicity, revealed a symmetrical, mainly sensory peripheral neuropathy, with minor motor involvement. The severity of neurotoxicity was not related to cumulative or daily thalidomide dose, but only to the duration of the disease prior to thalidomide treatment, although no patients presented neurological symptoms at study entry. These results suggest that long-term thalidomide therapy in MM may be hampered by the remarkable neurotoxicity of the drug, and that a neurological evaluation should be mandatory prior to thalidomide treatment, in order to identify patients at risk of developing a peripheral neuropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]