Weight Loss in Parkinson's Disease: No Evidence for Role of Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Weight loss and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) are common in Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to study the relationship between weight loss and SIBO in PD. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study with a prospective, interventional component. Consecutive patients seen in the PD clinic who agreed to participate underwent extensive history, movement exam, SIBO breath testing and answered questionnaires. A subset of those in the weight loss group were treated with rifaximin for 14 days and returned 3 months later for an assessment of their weight, GI symptoms, quality of life and SIBO status. All analyses were adjusted for age and disease duration. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients participated in the study; 37 without weight loss and 14 with weight loss. Total energy intake including the distribution of macronutrient intake was similar between groups while physical activity was less in those with weight loss. PD severity scores did not differ between groups; however, PD-specific quality of life scores were significantly worse for the summary index and the subscales of emotional well-being, social support and communication. The prevalence of constipation, dyspepsia and abdominal pain/discomfort was higher in those with weight loss. The prevalence of SIBO was 14% in the weight loss group and was not different between groups. Eight PD patients with weight loss were treated with rifaximin; no significant change in GI symptoms, quality of life or weight was seen 3 months later. CONCLUSION: Although a number of differences were identified in quality of life and gastrointestinal symptoms between groups with and without weight loss, SIBO was not associated with weight loss in patients with PD. Given the exploratory nature and small number of patients with weight loss, however, further study is suggested.

Alteration of Diffusion-Tensor Magnetic Resonance Imaging Measures in Brain Regions Involved in Early Stages of Parkinson's Disease.

Many nonmotor symptoms (e.g., hyposmia) appear years before the cardinal motor features of Parkinson's disease (PD). It is thus desirable to be able to use noninvasive brain imaging methods, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), to detect brain abnormalities in early PD stages. Among the MRI modalities, diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) is suitable for detecting changes in brain tissue structure due to neurological diseases. The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether DTI signals measured from brain regions involved in early stages of PD differ from those of healthy controls. To answer this question, we analyzed whole-brain DTI data of 30 early-stage PD patients and 30 controls using improved region of interest-based analysis methods. Results showed that (i) the fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the olfactory tract (connected with the olfactory bulb: one of the first structures affected by PD) are lower in PD patients than healthy controls; (ii) FA values are higher in PD patients than healthy controls in the following brain regions: corticospinal tract, cingulum (near hippocampus), and superior longitudinal fasciculus (temporal part). Experimental results suggest that the tissue property, measured by FA, in olfactory regions is structurally modulated by PD with a mechanism that is different from other brain regions.

Abnormal visual contrast acuity in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: Low-contrast vision is thought to be reduced in Parkinson's disease (PD). This may have a direct impact on quality of life such as driving, using tools, finding objects, and mobility in low-light condition. Low-contrast letter acuity testing has been successful in assessing low-contrast vision in multiple sclerosis. We report the use of a new iPad application to measure low-contrast acuity in patients with PD. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate low- and high-contrast letter acuity in PD patients and controls using a variable contrast acuity eye chart developed for the Apple iPad. METHODS: Thirty-two PD and 71 control subjects were studied. Subjects viewed the Variable Contrast Acuity Chart on an iPad with both eyes open at two distances (40 cm and 2 m) and at high contrast (black and white visual acuity) and 2.5% low contrast. Acuity scores for the two groups were compared. RESULTS: PD patients had significantly lower scores (indicating worse vision) for 2.5% low contrast at both distances and for high contrast at 2 m (p < 0.003) compared to controls. No significant difference was found between the two groups for high contrast at 40 cm (p = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: Parkinson's disease patients have reduced low and high contrast acuity compared to controls. An iPad app, as used in this study, could serve as a quick screening tool to complement more formal testing of patients with PD and other neurologic disorders.

Slowing of number naming speed by King-Devick test in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND: The King-Devick (KD) test measures the speed of rapid number naming, and is postulated to require fast eye movements, attention, language, and possibly other aspects of cognitive functions. While used in multiple sports concussion studies, it has not been applied to the field of movement disorders. METHODS: Forty-five Parkinson's disease (PD), 23 essential tremor (ET), and 65 control subjects were studied. Subjects performed two trials of reading out loud single-digit numbers separated by varying spacing on three test cards that were of different formats. The sum time of the faster trial was designated the KD score and compared across the three groups. RESULTS: PD patients had higher (worse) KD scores, with longer reading times compared to ET and control subjects (66 s vs. 49 s vs. 52 s, p < 0.001, adjusting for age and gender). No significant difference was found between ET and control (Δ = -3 s, 95% CI: -10 to 4). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of the King-Devick Test in Parkinson's disease. PD patients were found to have a slower rapid number naming speed compared to controls. This test may be a simple and rapid bedside tool for quantifying correlates of visual and cognitive function in Parkinson's disease.

Assessing the microlesion effect of subthalamic deep brain stimulation surgery with FDG PET.

OBJECT: The authors investigated whether the insertion of deep brain stimulation electrodes into the subthalamic nucleus can alter regional brain metabolism in the absence of stimulation. METHODS: Six patients with Parkinson disease (PD) underwent preoperative FDG PET scanning, and again after STN electrode implantation with stimulation turned off. RESULTS: Compared with baseline values, glucose utilization was reduced in the postoperative off-stimulation scans in the putamen/globus pallidus and in the ventral thalamus (p < 0.01), and there was increased metabolism in the sensorimotor cortex and cerebellum (p < 0.005). The expression of a specific PD-related spatial covariance pattern measured in the FDG PET data did not change after electrode implantation (p = 0.36), nor was there a significant change in clinical motor ratings (p = 0.44). Differences in PD-related spatial covariance pattern expression among the patients after electrode implantation did, however, correlate with the number of microelectrode recording trajectories placed during surgery (r = -0.82, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that electrode implantation can impart a microlesion effect on regional brain function. Nonetheless, these local changes did not cross the threshold of network modulation needed to achieve clinical benefit.

Metabolic correlates of subthalamic nucleus activity in Parkinson's disease.

Overactivity of subthalamic nucleus (STN) neurons is a consistent feature of Parkinson's disease (PD) and is a target of therapy for this disorder. However, the relationship of STN firing rate to regional brain function is not known. We scanned 17 PD patients with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET to measure resting glucose metabolism before the implantation of STN deep brain stimulation electrodes. Spontaneous STN firing rates were recorded during surgery and correlated with preoperative regional glucose metabolism on a voxel-by-voxel basis. We also examined the relationship between firing rate and the activity of metabolic brain networks associated with the motor and cognitive manifestations of the disease. Mean firing rates were 47.2 +/- 6.1 and 48.7 +/- 8.5 Hz for the left and right hemispheres, respectively. These measures correlated (P < 0.007) with glucose metabolism in the putamen and globus pallidus, which receive projections from this structure. Significant correlations (P < 0.0005) were also evident in the primary motor (BA4) and dorsolateral prefrontal (BA46/10) cortical areas. The activity of both the motor (P < 0.0001) and the cognitive (P < 0.006) PD-related metabolic networks was elevated in these patients. STN firing rates correlated with the activity of the former (P < 0.007) but not the latter network (P = 0.39). The findings suggest that the functional pathways associated with motor disability in PD are linked to the STN firing rate. These pathways are likely to mediate the clinical benefit that is seen following targeted STN interventions for this disease.

Abnormal metabolic networks in atypical parkinsonism.

Spatial covariance analysis has been used with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET to detect and quantify specific metabolic patterns associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, PD-related patterns cannot necessarily serve as biomarkers of the processes that underlie the atypical parkinsonian syndromes. In this FDG PET study, we used strictly defined statistical criteria to identify disease-related metabolic patterns in the imaging data from patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), the two most common of these atypical conditions. We found that MSA and PSP were each associated with a specific, highly stable metabolic brain network (P < 0.0001, bootstrap estimation). The MSA-related pattern was characterized by decreased metabolism in the putamen and cerebellum. The PSP-related pattern was characterized by metabolic decreases in the brainstem and medial frontal cortex. For both conditions, pattern expression was significantly elevated in patients relative to age-matched healthy control subjects (P < 0.001). For each condition, we validated the associated disease-related metabolic pattern by computing its expression on an individual scan basis in two independent patient cohorts, and in one subsequent healthy volunteer cohort. We found that for both MSA and PSP, prospective assessments of pattern expression accurately discriminated patients from controls (P < 0.001). These findings suggest that the major atypical parkinsonian syndromes are associated with distinct patterns of abnormal regional metabolic activity. These disease-related networks can potentially be used in conjunction with functional brain imaging as quantifiable biomarkers for the assessment of these pathological conditions.

Modulation of metabolic brain networks after subthalamic gene therapy for Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by elevated expression of an abnormal metabolic brain network that is reduced by clinically effective treatment. We used fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) to determine the basis for motor improvement in 12 PD patients receiving unilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) infusion of an adenoassociated virus vector expressing glutamic acid decarboxylase (AAV-GAD). After gene therapy, we observed significant reductions in thalamic metabolism on the operated side as well as concurrent metabolic increases in ipsilateral motor and premotor cortical regions. Abnormal elevations in the activity of metabolic networks associated with motor and cognitive functioning in PD patients were evident at baseline. The activity of the motor-related network declined after surgery and persisted at 1 year. These network changes correlated with improved clinical disability ratings. By contrast, the activity of the cognition-related network did not change after gene transfer. This suggests that modulation of abnormal network activity underlies the clinical outcome observed after unilateral STN AAV-GAD gene therapy. Network biomarkers may be used as physiological assays in early-phase trials of experimental therapies for PD and other neurodegenerative disease.

Application of frequency-modulated spectroscopy in vacuum seal integrity testing of lyophilized biological products.

This study examined the feasibility of applying frequency-modulated spectroscopy (FMS) to test vacuum seal integrity of lyophilized protein pharmaceuticals in glass vials. A lyophilized recombinant monoclonal antibody was used as an example to demonstrate that FMS is a non-destructive method that could accurately and quickly determine vial vacuum integrity within a pressure range of 0.04 to 0.5 atm. The coefficient of determination (R2) of a bench-top instrument was found to be >0.99. Only seconds were required to analyze each sample. The instrument sensitivity and specificity were 0.95 and >0.99, respectively, based on analysis of approximately 40,000 samples. Because of low energy input by the instrument, no adverse effect on the protein quality was found immediately after up to 1 h of continuous laser exposure. The laser-exposed samples had comparable stability to non-exposed control vials after 12 weeks of storage at 40 degrees C.

Determination of residual moisture in lyophilized protein pharmaceuticals using a rapid and non-invasive method: near infrared spectroscopy.

This study examined the application of near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy to analyze residual moisture in lyophilized protein pharmaceuticals sealed in glass vials. We demonstrated that NIR was able to determine residual moisture in five marketed and clinical products with the same precision as Karl Fischer titration. We further investigated how changes in product configuration and protein formulation affected NIR measurement accuracy using a lyophilized monoclonal antibody rhuMAb E25 containing 1% to 5% residual moisture. The results indicated that the lyophilized cake porosity and dimensions had no effect on NIR measurement when the cake height and diameter exceeded the NIR penetration depth. In addition, changing the buffer and surfactant concentrations in the formulation did not affect moisture determination by NIR. However, doubling or halving the concentration of a disaccharide, which was used as a lyoprotectant, caused significant deviation between the NIR and Karl Fischer data because the NIR absorbance of the disaccharide overlapped with the moisture signal. Furthermore, complete removal of the disaccharide resulted in alteration of the protein NIR spectra, suggesting that NIR may be used to evaluate solid-state protein structure. The disaccharide concentration must be kept constant in this formulation to obtain accurate moisture results by NIR.