Hypodipsia discriminates progressive supranuclear palsy from other parkinsonian syndromes

Best Practices in the Clinical Management of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Syndrome: A Consensus Statement of the CurePSP Centers of Care

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS; the most common phenotype of corticobasal degeneration) are tauopathies with a relentless course, usually starting in the mid-60s and leading to death after an average of 7 years. There is as yet no specific or disease-modifying treatment. Clinical deficits in PSP are numerous, involve the entire neuraxis, and present as several discrete phenotypes. They center on rigidity, bradykinesia, postural instability, gait freezing, supranuclear ocular motor impairment, dysarthria, dysphagia, incontinence, sleep disorders, frontal cognitive dysfunction, and a variety of behavioral changes. CBS presents with prominent and usually asymmetric dystonia, apraxia, myoclonus, pyramidal signs, and cortical sensory loss. The symptoms and deficits of PSP and CBS are amenable to a variety of treatment strategies but most physicians, including many neurologists, are reluctant to care for patients with these conditions because of unfamiliarity with their multiplicity of interacting symptoms and deficits. CurePSP, the organization devoted to support, research, and education for PSP and CBS, created its CurePSP Centers of Care network in North America in 2017 to improve patient access to clinical expertise and develop collaborations. The directors of the 25 centers have created this consensus document outlining best practices in the management of PSP and CBS. They formed a writing committee for each of 12 sub-topics. A 4-member Steering Committee collated and edited the contributions. The result was returned to the entire cohort of authors for further comments, which were considered for incorporation by the Steering Committee. The authors hope that this publication will serve as a convenient guide for all clinicians caring for patients with PSP and CBS and that it will improve care for patients with these devastating but manageable disorders.

Association of autonomic symptoms with disease progression and survival in progressive supranuclear palsy

BACKGROUND

Development of autonomic failure is associated with more rapid disease course and shorter survival in patients with Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. However, autonomic symptoms have not been specifically assessed as a prognostic factor in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). We evaluated whether development of autonomic symptoms is associated with disease progression and survival in PSP.

METHODS

A retrospective review of clinical data from consecutive patients with autopsy-confirmed PSP from the Queen Square Brain Bank between January 2012 and November 2016 was performed. Time from disease onset to four autonomic symptoms (constipation, urinary symptoms, erectile dysfunction and orthostatic hypotension) were noted. Time from diagnosis to five disease milestones and survival were calculated to assess disease progression, and their risk was estimated through a Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

A total of 103 PSP patients were included. Urinary symptoms and constipation were present in 81% and 71% of cases, respectively. Early development of constipation and urinary symptoms were associated with higher risk of reaching the first disease milestone (respectively, HR: 0.88; 95% CI 0.83 to 0.92; p<0.001; and HR: 0.80; 95% CI 0.75 to 0.86; p<0.001) and with a shorter survival in these patients (respectively, HR: 0.73; 95% CI 0.64 to 0.84; p<0.001; and HR: 0.88; 95% CI 0.80 to 0.96; p=0.004). On multivariate analysis, Richardson syndrome phenotype was the other variable independently associated with shorter survival.

CONCLUSIONS

Earlier urinary symptoms and constipation are associated with a more rapid disease progression and reduced survival in patients with PSP.