Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 2 de 2
Filter
Add more filters










Database
Language
Publication year range
1.
Epilepsy Res ; 92(1): 48-53, 2010 Nov.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20850272

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: A gabaergic antiepileptic drug, vigabatrin (VGB), is known to induce bilateral concentric visual field defects (VFD) in 30-40% of treated patients. Although the clinical and electrophysiological features of VFDs are well documented, the mechanism of retinal toxicity is still unclear. PURPOSE: To determine if low basal ornithine-δ-aminotranspherase (OAT) activity is implicated in the etiology of VGB retinotoxicity, resulting in a phenotype of a mild form of gyrate atrophy. METHODS: Assays of OAT activity in lymphocytes and GABA-transaminase activity in platelets were performed, and plasma levels of GABA, ornithine, lysine, glutamic acid and glutamine were measured, and visual fields were examined. A total of 47 subjects, aged 14-78 years, were examined. Twenty-one epileptic patients were off VGB more than 1 year; 11 patients with VGB-induced VFD and 10 with normal visual fields. Ten epileptic patients were on current VGB therapy more than 1 year; four patients with VGB-induced VFD and six with normal visual fields. The results were compared with those of 10 epilepsy patients taking tiagabine and six patients who suffered from gyrate atrophy (GA) or were obligate carriers of the disease. RESULTS: In patients who had stopped VGB and who had VFDs, OAT activity was significantly reduced as compared with those who had normal visual fields (77.4pmol P5C/min/mgPro vs. 181.9pmol P5C/min/mgPro, p=0.002). In patients with ongoing VGB therapy, no difference was found between the patients with and without VFDs (149.4pmol P5C/min/mgPro vs. 159.1pmol P5C/min/mgPro). CONCLUSIONS: : The results suggest that VGB retinotoxicity might be associated with elevated retinal ornithine mediated by low basal OAT activity.


Subject(s)
Anticonvulsants/adverse effects , Perceptual Disorders/chemically induced , Perceptual Disorders/enzymology , Vigabatrin/adverse effects , Visual Fields/drug effects , 4-Aminobutyrate Transaminase/metabolism , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Anticonvulsants/pharmacology , Anticonvulsants/therapeutic use , Epilepsy/drug therapy , Female , Humans , Lymphocytes/drug effects , Lymphocytes/metabolism , Male , Middle Aged , Ornithine-Oxo-Acid Transaminase/metabolism , Perceptual Disorders/blood , Vigabatrin/pharmacology , Vigabatrin/therapeutic use , Visual Field Tests , Visual Fields/physiology , Young Adult , gamma-Aminobutyric Acid/blood
2.
Brain ; 133(Pt 6): 1747-54, 2010 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-20413575

ABSTRACT

Olfactory dysfunction is common in subjects with Parkinson's disease. The pathophysiology of such dysfunction, however, remains poorly understood. Neurodegeneration within central regions involved in odour perception may contribute to olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Central cholinergic deficits occur in Parkinson's disease and cholinergic neurons innervate regions, such as the limbic archicortex, involved in odour perception. We investigated the relationship between performance on an odour identification task and forebrain cholinergic denervation in Parkinson's disease subjects without dementia. Fifty-eight patients with Parkinson's disease (mean Hoehn and Yahr stage 2.5 + or - 0.5) without dementia (mean Mini-Mental State Examination, 29.0 + or - 1.4) underwent a clinical assessment, [(11)C]methyl-4-piperidinyl propionate acetylcholinesterase brain positron emission tomography and olfactory testing with the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test. The diagnosis of Parkinson's disease was confirmed by [(11)C]dihydrotetrabenazine vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 positron emission tomography. We found that odour identification test scores correlated positively with acetylcholinesterase activity in the hippocampal formation (r = 0.56, P < 0.0001), amygdala (r = 0.50, P < 0.0001) and neocortex (r = 0.46, P = 0.0003). Striatal monoaminergic activity correlated positively with odour identification scores (r = 0.30, P < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis including limbic (hippocampal and amygdala) and neocortical acetylcholinesterase activity as well as striatal monoaminergic activity, using odour identification scores as the dependent variable, demonstrated a significant regressor effect for limbic acetylcholinesterase activity (F = 10.1, P < 0.0001), borderline for striatal monoaminergic activity (F = 1.6, P = 0.13), but not significant for cortical acetylcholinesterase activity (F = 0.3, P = 0.75). Odour identification scores correlated positively with scores on cognitive measures of episodic verbal learning (r = 0.30, P < 0.05). These findings indicate that cholinergic denervation of the limbic archicortex is a more robust determinant of hyposmia than nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation in subjects with moderately severe Parkinson's disease. Greater deficits in odour identification may identify patients with Parkinson's disease at risk for clinically significant cognitive impairment.


Subject(s)
Brain/metabolism , Cognition Disorders/metabolism , Olfactory Perception , Parkinson Disease/metabolism , Perceptual Disorders/metabolism , Acetylcholinesterase/metabolism , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Biogenic Monoamines/metabolism , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Brain/enzymology , Cognition Disorders/diagnostic imaging , Cognition Disorders/enzymology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Neuropsychological Tests , Parkinson Disease/diagnostic imaging , Parkinson Disease/enzymology , Pattern Recognition, Physiological , Perceptual Disorders/diagnostic imaging , Perceptual Disorders/enzymology , Physical Stimulation , Positron-Emission Tomography , Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins/metabolism
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL
...