Functional Movement Disorders during COVID-19: Psychological Distress, Affective Temperament and Emotional Dysregulation.

Background and objective: Functional movement disorders (FMD) represent a spectrum of psychosomatic symptoms particularly sensitive to stress. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased psychological distress worldwide and may have worsened FMD. The study aimed to confirm this hypothesis and to test whether in FMD there is a relationship between affective temperament, emotional dysregulation and psychological distress due to the pandemic. Methods: We recruited individuals with FMD, diagnosed them according to validated criteria and matched them with healthy controls (HC). Psychological distress and temperament were obtained using the Kessler-10 and the Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa and San Diego Autoquestionnaire, respectively. We used bootstrapped mediation analysis to test the mediator role of emotional dysregulation on the effect of temperament on psychological distress. Results: The sample consisted of 96 individuals. During the pandemic, 31.3% of the patients reported the need for urgent neurological care, and 40.6% reported a subjective worsening neurological condition. Patients with FMD presented with more psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic (F = 30.15, df = 1, p ≤ 0.001) than HC. They also reported more emotional dysregulation (F = 15.80, df = 1, p ≤ 0.001) and more cyclothymic traits (F = 14.84, df = 1, p ≤ 0.001). Cyclothymic temperament showed an indirect effect on COVID-19-related psychological distress, mediated by deficits in emotion regulation mechanisms (Bootstrapped LLCI = 0.41, ULCI = 2.41). Conclusion: Our results suggest that emotional dysregulation may represent a dimension mediating cyclotimic temperament response to the stressful effect of the pandemic and provide insight for developing intervention policies.

Beyond the CAG triplet number: exploring potential predictors of delayed age of onset in Huntington's disease.

OBJECTIVE: Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive, motor, and psychiatric dysfunction. It is caused by an expansion of the trinucleotide repeat sequence cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) in the Huntingtin gene on chromosome 4. Onset typically occurs in the fourth or fifth decade, ranging from childhood to late adulthood. The CAG triplet number is generally inversely proportional to the age of onset (AOO), but the repeat number only accounts for ∼70% of the variability in AOO. Several studies demonstrated the impact of genetic modifiers on age of disease onset. In addition to genetics, we also explored the demographic, anamnestic, and socio-environmental factors that can affect AOO, to help us understand the non-genetic variability of age of onset in HD. METHODS: We analyzed the retrospective data of the ENROLL-HD global registry study, particularly focusing on the continuum of ages, to include sociodemographic, genetic, and anamnestic psychobehavioral variables in a multivariate regression model aimed at identifying the potential predictors of age of motor onset (n = 5053). We ran the same regression model in the sample of subjects who had the same number of triplets (41 CAG, n = 593) and in the sample whose family history was absent/unknown (n = 630). RESULTS: Patients with delayed onset more frequently have unknown/missing family history, are married or widowed, live in larger urbanized contexts and have a lower educational level. Individuals with earlier onset more frequently develop psychobehavioral symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: In the past, the HD gene was considered the epitome of genetic determinism. Our results are consistent with recent evidence that other factors might modulate its impact. These findings allow characterizing the determinants of AOO beyond the CAG expansions and provide valuable information for stratifying patients for future clinical trial designs.

Clinical and genetic characteristics of late-onset Huntington's disease in a large European cohort.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant condition caused by CAG-triplet repeat expansions. CAG-triplet repeat expansion is inversely correlated with age of onset in HD and largely determines the clinical features. The aim of this study was to examine the phenotypic and genotypic correlates of late-onset HD (LoHD) and to determine whether LoHD is a more benign expression of HD. METHODS: This was a retrospective observational study of 5053 White European HD patients from the ENROLL-HD database. Sociodemographic, genetic and phenotypic variables at baseline evaluation of subjects with LoHD, common-onset HD (CoHD) and young-onset HD (YoHD) were compared. LoHD subjects were compared with healthy subjects (HS) aged ≥60 years. Differences between the CoHD and LoHD groups were also explored in subjects with 41 CAG triplets, a repeat number in the lower pathological expansion range associated with wide variability in age at onset. RESULTS: Late-onset HD presented predominantly as motor-onset disease, with a lower prevalence of both psychiatric history and current symptomatology. Absent/unknown HD family history was significantly more common in the LoHD group (31.2%) than in the other groups. The LoHD group had more severe motor and cognitive deficits than the HS group. Subjects with LoHD and CoHD with 41 triplets in the larger allele were comparable with regard to cognitive impairment, but those with LoHD had more severe motor disorders, less problematic behaviors and more often an unknown HD family history. CONCLUSIONS: It is likely that cognitive disorders and motor symptoms of LoHD are at least partly age-related and not a direct expression of the disease. In addition to CAG-triplet repeat expansion, future studies should investigate the role of other genetic and environmental factors in determining age of onset.

What about the caregiver? A journey into Parkinson's disease following the burden tracks.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate caregivers and patients characteristics related to different dimensions of burden in Parkinson's disease (PD). METHODS: 55 pairs of PD patients and caregivers were recruited. The burden was evaluated with the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI). Multivariate analysis was applied to evaluate the impact of caregivers' and patients' characteristics on the varying aspects of burden. RESULTS: ADL score was the dominant predictor for the total score and all dimensions of CBI, except for the social burden, which is strongly predicted by the motor severity of PD. As one can easily imagine, the Total CBI decreases as the ADL score increases. DISCUSSION: An increased appreciation for characteristics of caregiver burden is a fundamental aspect of the patient's global evaluation. Clinicians may need to directly probe for these factors in the caregiver as they may not be elicited routinely.

An Italian Neurology Outpatient Clinic Facing SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Data From 2,167 Patients.

Objective: Neurological sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection have already been reported, but there is insufficient data about the impact of the pandemic on the management of the patients with chronic neurological diseases. We aim to analyze the effect of COVID-19 pandemic and social restriction rules on these fragile patients. Methods: Patients with chronic neurologic diseases routinely followed at the outpatient clinic of Gemelli University Hospital, Rome, were assessed for symptoms suggestive of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the pandemic period, consequences of social restrictions, and neurological disease features, concomitant medical conditions, current medical and disease-specific treatments. Data source: a dedicated telephone survey designed to encompass questions on COVID-19 symptoms and on pandemic effects in chronic neurologic conditions. Results: Overall, 2,167 individuals were analyzed: 63 patients reported contact with COVID-19 positive cases, 41 performed the swab, and 2 symptomatic patients tested positive for COVID-19 (0.09%). One hundred fifty-eight individuals (7%) needed urgent neurological care, deferred due to the pandemic; 641 patients (30%) suspended hospital treatments, physiotherapy or other support interventions; 405 individuals (19%) reported a subjective worsening of neurological symptoms. Conclusions: In our population, the presence of neurological chronic diseases did not increase the prevalence of COVID-19 infection. Nevertheless, the burden of neurological disorders has been worsened by the lockdown.

Subjective Assessment of Sleep in Huntington Disease: Reliability of Sleep Questionnaires Compared to Polysomnography.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical reliability of subjective sleep evaluation, based on sleep and psychometric questionnaires, by comparing the results with those obtained with laboratory-based video-polysomnography (V-PSG). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty consecutive Huntington disease (HD) patients were enrolled. Subjective evaluation of sleep included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the sleep questionnaire for HD (HDQ), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Bologna questionnaire for sleepiness (BQ), the Berlin questionnaire, and the RBD questionnaire; the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group scale was administered to patients with positive screening. The psychometric evaluation included the Zung Anxiety Scale, the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Maudsley Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory. All patients underwent V-PSG. RESULTS: In sleepiness evaluation, the Epworth score was above the cutoff in 6 subjects, and the BQ detected a "high risk" of sleepiness in 7 cases. The results were concordant in 24 and discordant in 5 cases. In the evaluation of sleep quality, the PSQI score was above the cutoff in 18 subjects. According to the HDQ, 10 subjects were poor sleepers. The results were concordant with the PSQI in 20 subjects. DISCUSSION: All comparisons between scale scores and PSG results showed poor or totally absent concordance between subjective and objective measures. SIGNIFICANCE: The subjective evaluation of sleep in HD patients shows a poor correlation with PSG results.

Polysomnographic Findings and Clinical Correlates in Huntington Disease: A Cross-Sectional Cohort Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the sleep pattern and the motor activity during sleep in a cohort of patients affected by Huntington disease (HD). DESIGN: Cross-sectional cohort study. SETTING: Sleep laboratory. PATIENTS: Thirty HD patients, 16 women and 14 men (mean age 57.3 ± 12.2 y); 30 matched healthy controls (mean age 56.5 ± 11.8 y). INTERVENTIONS: Subjective sleep evaluation: Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS); Berlin's Questionnaire, interview for restless legs syndrome (RLS), questionnaire for REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Clinical evaluation: disease duration, clinical severity (unified Huntington disease motor rating scale [UHDMRS]), genetic tests. Laboratory-based full-night attended video-polysomnography (V-PSG). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The duration of the disease was 9.4 ± 4.4 y, UHMDRS score was 55.5 ± 23.4, CAG repeats were 44.3 ± 4.1. Body mass index was 21.9 ± 4.0 kg/m(2). No patients or caregivers reported poor sleep quality. Two patients reported symptoms of RLS. Eight patients had an ESS score ≥ 9. Eight patients had high risk of obstructive sleep apnea. At the RBD questionnaire, two patients had a pathological score. HD patients, compared to controls, showed shorter sleep, reduced sleep efficiency index, and increased arousals and awakenings. Four patients presented with sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Periodic limb movements (PLMs) during wake and sleep were observed in all patients. No episode of RBD was observed in the V-PSG recordings, and no patients showed rapid eye movement (REM) sleep without atonia. The disease duration correlated with ESS score (P < 0.02). UHMDRS correlated positively with the ESS score (P < 0.005), and negatively with the percentage of REM sleep. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with Huntington disease showed a severe sleep disruption and a high prevalence of periodic limb movements, but no evidence of sleep disordered breathing or REM sleep behavior disorder.