The greatest loss of unpleasant smells may be related to the risk of more severe PD symptoms.

Background: Limited research has explored the relationship between the valence of olfactory dysfunction and PD clinical symptoms. This study aimed to investigate correlations between the emotional valence of olfactory impairment and different domains of PD symptoms. Methods: PD patients who fulfilled the clinically probable PD diagnostic criteria of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Clinical Diagnostic Criteria for Parkinson's Disease were recruited from the Center for Parkinson and Movement Disorders at Taichung Veterans General Hospital between October 2016 and April 2022. Demographic data and serial clinical assessments were collected, including the traditional Chinese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-TC) and Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). Thirty-five odors from the UPSIT-TC were classified into neutral, pleasant or unpleasant groups. Group comparisons, correlation analyses, and linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between olfactory impairment of UPSIT-TC odors, considering emotional valence, and MDS-UPDRS subscores across various domains. Results: A total of 176 PD patients were recruited for analysis. Patients in the predominantly neutral/unpleasant odor impairment groups had higher MDS-UPDRS part III scores compared to those in the predominantly pleasant odor impairment group (pleasant vs. neutral vs. unpleasant odor impairment groups: 26.79 ± 13.59 vs. 35.33 ± 16.36 vs. 31.57 ± 12.37, p = 0.009). This trend was also noted in MDS-UPDRS rigidity, bradykinesia, and akinetic-rigid subscores (p = 0.003, p = 0.012, and p = 0.001, respectively). Correlation analysis revealed a weak but significant correlation between rigidity/akinetic-rigid subscores and misidentification numbers for neutral/unpleasant odors (all p < 0.05), with age, gender, LEDD, and disease duration as covariates. All significances were retained in the linear regression analysis. Conclusion: Our results emphasize the link between olfactory impairment of specific emotional valence, neutral/unpleasant odors, and PD severity, particularly with respect to akinetic-rigid symptoms. A concise olfactory test that focuses on both neutral and unpleasant odors may offer deeper insights into PD symptoms.

UPSIT subitems may predict motor progression in Parkinson's disease.

Background: The relationship between hyposmia and motor progression is controversial in Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to investigate whether preserved identification of Chinese-validated University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) odors could predict PD motor progression. Methods: PD patients with two consecutive clinical visits while taking medication were recruited. Based on mean changes in Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part 3 score and levodopa equivalent daily dosage, the participants were categorized into rapid progression, medium progression, and slow progression groups. Odors associated with the risk of PD motor progression were identified by calculating the odds ratios of UPSIT item identification between the rapid and slow progression groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of these odors was conducted to determine an optimal threshold for rapid motor progression. Results: A total of 117 PD patients were screened for group classification. Preserved identification of neutral/pleasant odors including banana, peach, magnolia, and baby powder was significantly correlated with rapid motor progression. The risk of rapid progression increased with more detected risk odors. Detection of ≥1.5 risk odors could differentiate rapid progression from slow progression with a sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 45.8%, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.687. Conclusion: Preserved identification of neutral/pleasant odors may help to predict PD motor progression, and detection of ≥1.5 UPSIT motor progression risk odors could improve the predictive power. In PD patients with a similar level of motor disability during initial screening, preserved pleasant/neutral odor identification may imply relatively better cortical odor discriminative function, which may suggest the body-first (caudo-rostral) subtype with faster disease progression.

How CEOs respond to mortality salience during the COVID-19 pandemic: Integrating terror management theory with regulatory focus theory.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths in the U.S. As chief strategists of their respective firms, how do Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) react to mortality salience associated with the number of new daily COVID deaths in the U.S.? To answer this question, we integrate terror management theory (TMT) with regulatory focus theory to examine how CEOs respond to mortality salience. Based on a sample of CEOs of S&P 500 firms, we found that mortality salience was associated with CEOs' increased other-orientation, and this association was more pronounced among those with high prevention focus. Mortality salience also was associated with CEOs' decreased self-orientation, particularly among those with high promotion focus. We also found that CEOs' self-orientation was negatively related to the likelihood of their firms' making community donations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Reprogramming the tumor microenvironment: tumor-induced immunosuppressive factors paralyze T cells.

It has become evident that tumor-induced immuno-suppressive factors in the tumor microenvironment play a major role in suppressing normal functions of effector T cells. These factors serve as hurdles that limit the therapeutic potential of cancer immunotherapies. This review focuses on illustrating the molecular mechanisms of immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, including evasion of T-cell recognition, interference with T-cell trafficking, metabolism, and functions, induction of resistance to T-cell killing, and apoptosis of T cells. A better understanding of these mechanisms may help in the development of strategies to enhance the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies.