Motor Improvement-Related Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Changes in Parkinson's Disease in Response to Antiparkinsonian Drugs.

Little is known about the relationship between regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) change and clinical improvement in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) measurement of cerebral blood flow allows evaluation of temporal changes in brain function, and using SPECT, we aimed to identify motor improvement-related rCBF changes in response to the administration of antiparkinsonian drugs. Thirty PD patients (16 without dementia; 14 with dementia) were scanned with technetium-99m labeled ethyl cysteinate dimer SPECT and were rated with the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part III, both before and after a single administration of antiparkinsonian drugs. The SPECT data were processed using Statistical Parametric Mapping 2, the easy Z-score Imaging System, and voxel-based Stereotactic Extraction Estimation. The rCBF responses in the deep brain structures after administration of antiparkinsonian drugs tended to be larger than those in cortical areas. Among these deep brain structures, the rCBF increases in the substantia nigra (SN), lateral geniculate (LG) body, and medial geniculate (MG) body correlated with drug efficacy (p < 0.05, respectively). A subgroup analysis revealed that the motor improvement-related rCBF change in the MG was statistically significant, irrespective of cognitive function, but the significant changes in the LG and SN were not found in subjects with dementia. In conclusion, our SPECT study clearly exhibited drug-driven rCBF changes in PD patients, and we newly identified motor improvement-related rCBF changes in the LG and MG. These results suggest that rCBF changes in these regions could be considered as candidates for clinical indicators for objective evaluation of disease progression. Furthermore, functional studies focusing on the LG and MG, especially in relation to therapies using audio-visual stimuli, may bring some new clues to explain the pathophysiology of PD.

Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis in Patients with Elderly Onset at Advanced Age.

The number of patients with late-onset myasthenia gravis (MG) among patients ≥50 years has been increasing recently. We encountered three patients who developed elderly-onset MG at a particularly advanced age (≥80 years). All were female and positive for anti-acetylcholine receptor antibodies. About 4 years have passed since MG onset in all three patients and symptoms have been controlled without recurrence using a combination of oral low-dose prednisolone and tacrolimus. As many cases of elderly-onset MG do not require strong immunosuppression, we recommend minimum immunosuppressive treatment to avoid adverse events, particularly in patients at an advanced age of ≥80 years.

[Myasthenia gravis complicated with optic neuritis showing anti-aquaporin 4 antibody: a case report].

We report a 33-year-old woman with myasthenia gravis (MG) who developed optic neuritis after the treatment of MG for 22 years. At 10 years of age, she was diagnosed with generalized MG (MGFA V) and at 11 years, she underwent thymectomy. She had been treated successfully only with anti-cholinesterase inhibitors for 22 years despite lasting high titer of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody. She could manage everything in her life and had two children. At 33 years of age, she experienced acute visual loss in her left eye. Laboratory examination showed positive anti-acetylcholine receptor, antinuclear, anti-ssDNA, anti-dsDNA, anti-SS-A, and anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4) antibodies. Brain MRI showed an enlarged left optic nerve with enhancement by gadolinium. Three courses of steroid pulse therapy did not show any effect on her visual acuity. However, plasma exchange therapy mildly ameliorated her visual acuity. Her MG symptoms were not exacerbated during the course of the optic neuritis. Furthermore blephalopstosis caused by MG has disappeared completely after the treatment with steroid pulse and plasma exchange. This case had 23 years of immunosuppressive treatment free durations with stable condition. The cause of development of optic neuritis would be her predisposed tendency other than thymectomy or treatment with immunosuppressive therapies.

Three spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 siblings with ataxia, parkinsonism, and motor neuronopathy.

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2) represents a family of dominant neurodegenerative disorders that results from CAG expansion repeat mutations. The phenotype consists of some common features, most notably progressive ataxia. We describe three siblings with SCA2, manifesting parkinsonism and ataxia in the first sibling, juvenile parkinsonism in the second and motor neuronopathy in the third. Genetic examination revealed expansion to 42, 43, and 42 CAG repeats. There was no relationship between the number of repeats and phenotype. The SCA2 gene should be studied in families with heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorders, including motor neuron disease.