Can we define “pre-motor” Parkinson's disease?

Does response inhibition have pre- and postdiagnostic utility in Parkinson's disease?

Parkinson's disease (Pd) is the second most prevalent degenerative neurological condition worldwide. Improving and sustaining quality of life is an important goal for Parkinson's patients. Key areas of focus to achieve this goal include earlier diagnosis and individualized treatment. In this review the authors discuss impulse control in Pd and examine how measures of impulse control from a response inhibition task may provide clinically useful information (a) within an objective test battery to aid earlier diagnosis of Pd and (b) in postdiagnostic Pd, to better identify individuals at risk of developing impulse control disorders with dopaminergic medication.

MicroRNA association with synucleinopathy conversion in rapid eye movement behavior disorder

Recently, we reported downregulated circulating levels of the microRNAs miR-19b, miR-29a, and miR-29c in Parkinson disease. Here we investigated the expression of these microRNAs in serum samples from 56 patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder, before and after their conversion into a synucleinopathy. Compared to controls, we found that the expression level of miR-19b is downregulated in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and antedates the diagnosis of Parkinson disease and dementia with Lewy bodies after 4.67 ± 2.61 years of follow-up. Our findings indicate that dysregulation of the microRNA miR-19b occurs in the prodromal stage of synucleinopathies.

Cohort Profile: a population-based cohort to study non-motor symptoms in parkinsonism (EPIPARK)

Parkinson's disease is increasingly viewed as a complex disorder including a range of typical non-motor symptoms in addition to the cardinal motor signs. This cohort was set up in 2010 to investigate the specificity of non-motor symptoms for Parkinson's disease. For this, we included several control groups with decreasing contrast from Parkinson's disease patients. Group definitions ranged from healthy control subjects to those with suspected early motor signs of parkinsonism. Using a mailed questionnaire, we screened 5838 inhabitants of Lübeck, Germany, out of a target population of 10 000 citizens, enquiring about motor impairment, pain, quality of life, comorbidities, somatization and demographics. Based on this information, participants were assigned to screening groups, and selected participants were invited for in-person examination (n = 623). The examination included cognitive examinations, transcranial ultrasound, a brief psychiatric interview and a standardized motor examination that was used to assign examination groups. In addition, all participants answered questionnaires addressing depression, anxiety, sleep and quality of life. The first-year follow-up examination was performed either in person using the same protocol or via mailed questionnaires. This study is ongoing and publications are in preparation, but you may contact the first author (meike.kasten@neuro.uni-luebeck.de) with suggestions for collaboration or data requests.