The greatest loss of unpleasant smells may be related to the risk of more severe PD symptoms

Background

Limited research has explored the relationship between the valence of olfactory dysfunction and PD clinical symptoms. This study aimed to investigate correlations between the emotional valence of olfactory impairment and different domains of PD symptoms.

Methods

PD patients who fulfilled the clinically probable PD diagnostic criteria of the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society Clinical Diagnostic Criteria for Parkinson's Disease were recruited from the Center for Parkinson and Movement Disorders at Taichung Veterans General Hospital between October 2016 and April 2022. Demographic data and serial clinical assessments were collected, including the traditional Chinese version of the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT-TC) and Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). Thirty-five odors from the UPSIT-TC were classified into neutral, pleasant or unpleasant groups. Group comparisons, correlation analyses, and linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between olfactory impairment of UPSIT-TC odors, considering emotional valence, and MDS-UPDRS subscores across various domains.

Results

A total of 176 PD patients were recruited for analysis. Patients in the predominantly neutral/unpleasant odor impairment groups had higher MDS-UPDRS part III scores compared to those in the predominantly pleasant odor impairment group (pleasant vs. neutral vs. unpleasant odor impairment groups: 26.79 ± 13.59 vs. 35.33 ± 16.36 vs. 31.57 ± 12.37, p = 0.009). This trend was also noted in MDS-UPDRS rigidity, bradykinesia, and akinetic-rigid subscores (p = 0.003, p = 0.012, and p = 0.001, respectively). Correlation analysis revealed a weak but significant correlation between rigidity/akinetic-rigid subscores and misidentification numbers for neutral/unpleasant odors (all p < 0.05), with age, gender, LEDD, and disease duration as covariates. All significances were retained in the linear regression analysis.

Conclusion

Our results emphasize the link between olfactory impairment of specific emotional valence, neutral/unpleasant odors, and PD severity, particularly with respect to akinetic-rigid symptoms. A concise olfactory test that focuses on both neutral and unpleasant odors may offer deeper insights into PD symptoms.

UPSIT subitems may predict motor progression in Parkinson's disease

Background

The relationship between hyposmia and motor progression is controversial in Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to investigate whether preserved identification of Chinese-validated University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) odors could predict PD motor progression.

Methods

PD patients with two consecutive clinical visits while taking medication were recruited. Based on mean changes in Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part 3 score and levodopa equivalent daily dosage, the participants were categorized into rapid progression, medium progression, and slow progression groups. Odors associated with the risk of PD motor progression were identified by calculating the odds ratios of UPSIT item identification between the rapid and slow progression groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of these odors was conducted to determine an optimal threshold for rapid motor progression.

Results

A total of 117 PD patients were screened for group classification. Preserved identification of neutral/pleasant odors including banana, peach, magnolia, and baby powder was significantly correlated with rapid motor progression. The risk of rapid progression increased with more detected risk odors. Detection of ≥1.5 risk odors could differentiate rapid progression from slow progression with a sensitivity of 85.7%, specificity of 45.8%, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.687.

Conclusion

Preserved identification of neutral/pleasant odors may help to predict PD motor progression, and detection of ≥1.5 UPSIT motor progression risk odors could improve the predictive power. In PD patients with a similar level of motor disability during initial screening, preserved pleasant/neutral odor identification may imply relatively better cortical odor discriminative function, which may suggest the body-first (caudo-rostral) subtype with faster disease progression.

Observation of rotational coherence in an excited state of CO. Opt Lett 2021;46:3893-3896. [PMID: 34388768 DOI: 10.1364/ol.432315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation is generated in the strong-field-ionized CO molecules through 2+1 resonance excitation with two-color femtosecond laser pulses. When scanning the relative delay between two pump pulses, the rotational-resolved VUV radiations show periodic oscillations lasting as long as 500 ps. Fourier analysis reveals that these oscillations correspond to rotational beat frequencies of the A²Π_i state of CO⁺, which is the result of multi-channel interference during the resonant excitation process. High resolution of Fourier transform spectra up to 0.067cm^-1 allows us to obtain the fine energy levels of the A²Π_i state. The theoretical calculation is in good agreement with the experimental observation. This work reveals the rotational coherence of the ionic excited state and shows the prospect of rotational coherence spectroscopy in measuring fine structures of molecular ions.

[Clinical application and curative effect observation of follicular unit extraction and transplantation in the treatment of cicatricial alopecia]

Objective: To observe the clinical effect of treatment with follicular unit extraction (FUE) and transplantation in treating cicatricial alopecia. Methods: The retrospective cohort study was conducted. From January 2012 to January 2018, 56 patients (36 males and 20 females, aged (25±9) years, 1% to 30% alopecia area of the whole scalp area) who met the inclusion criteria visited the outpatient department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Medical University. They were treated with FUE transplantation. The procedure of treatment was performed through the preoperative planning, follicular extraction, follicular preparation, punching recipient site and hair transplantation. The survival rate of hair and density of survived hair were calculated, hair growth and complication were observed. The evaluation was conducted through questionnaire survey by 4 levels: very satisfied, satisfied, not satisfied, and not at all satisfied with effects. Results: After a follow-up of 9 to 24 months, the survival rate of hair in 56 patients was (70±9)%, and the density of survived hair was (35±8) roots/cm². In the evaluation of the curative effect after the first stage surgery, 34 cases (60.7%) were very satisfied, 16 cases (28.6%) were satisfied, and 6 cases (10.7%)thought the treatment was effective but not satisfied. Six unsatisfactory patients and 16 satisfactory patients underwent the second-stage transplantation, with 19 (86.4%) of them being very satisfied and 3 cases (13.6%) satisfied after the second-stage operation. None of the patients underwent the third-stage surgery. The transplanted hairs grew naturally, and there were no serious complications in all cases. Conclusions: FUE transplantation can effectively treat and improve cicatricial alopecia with less trauma, fewer complication, no scar in the donor site and rapid post-operative recovery, so it is worthy of clinical promotion.

An analysis of antigenic polypeptides of dengue viruses and their specificity with western blotting

Dengue virus (DV) samples which harvested after having been either propagated in C6/36 cells or passaged by murine intracerebral inoculation were investigated by Western blotting. Two different denaturing methods with the same solution were selected before electrophoresis, one at 60 degrees C for 20 min; the other at 100 degrees C for 5 min. After the samples were heated at 60 degrees C for 20 min, 3 bands of sizes 46 ku, 70 ku and 98 ku were positively recognized by rabbit immunized sera. The peptide of 98 ku was DV group specific; While that of 46 ku could also react with the sera against both heterologous DV serotype and Japanese B encephalitis virus (JEV). After the samples were heated at 100 degrees C for 5 min, 3 peptides in size of 20 ku, 46 ku and 57 ku were recognized by the rabbit sera against both homologous and heterologous DV serotypes, while the peptide of 57 ku could also be recognized by anti-JEV serum. There was no significant difference in the results of Western blot between the DV antigens harvested from cellular culture and those from intra-cerebral inoculation.