Prevalence of headache in patients with Parkinson’s disease and its association with the side of motor symptom onset

We compared the lifetime prevalence and the prevalence of headache during the previous year in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and control subjects. We also investigated the association between the side of PD symptom onset and the side of the headache. We interviewed 98 consecutive patients with an established diagnosis of PD between December 2010 and January 2012. The control group consisted of the 98 oldest sex-matched individuals from the nationwide Brazilian headache database. PD patients showed a significantly lower prevalence (40.8 %) of headache in the previous year than controls (69.4 %) (adjusted OR 0.5, CI 95 % 0.2–0.9, p = 0.03). PD patients also showed a lower prevalence of headache throughout life (74.5 %) than controls (93.9 %) (adjusted OR 0.2, CI 95 % 0.1–0.6, p = 0.01). Considering only patients who presented headache during the previous year, PD patients showed a higher association with occurrence of migraine than tension-type headache compared with controls (adjusted OR 3.3, CI 95 % 1.2–8.9, p = 0.02). The headache side was ipsilateral to the side of PD onset in 21 patients (84 %), with a concordance of 85.7 % on the left side and 81.8 % on the right side (p < 0.01). The prevalence of primary headache was significantly lower in patients with PD than controls. The predominant side of headache was ipsilateral to the side of initial motor signs of PD.     

Underconnectivity of the superior temporal sulcus predicts emotion recognition deficits in autism

Neurodevelopmental disconnections have been assumed to cause behavioral alterations in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Here, we combined measurements of intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with task-based fMRI to explore whether altered activity and/or iFC of the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) mediates deficits in emotion recognition in ASD. Fifteen adults with ASD and 15 matched-controls underwent resting-state and task-based fMRI, during which participants discriminated emotional states from point light displays (PLDs). Intrinsic FC of the right pSTS was further examined using 584 (278 ASD/306 controls) resting-state data of the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE). Participants with ASD were less accurate than controls in recognizing emotional states from PLDs. Analyses revealed pronounced ASD-related reductions both in task-based activity and resting-state iFC of the right pSTS with fronto-parietal areas typically encompassing the action observation network (AON). Notably, pSTS-hypo-activity was related to pSTS-hypo-connectivity, and both measures were predictive of emotion recognition performance with each measure explaining a unique part of the variance. Analyses with the large independent ABIDE dataset replicated reductions in pSTS-iFC to fronto-parietal regions. These findings provide novel evidence that pSTS hypo-activity and hypo-connectivity with the fronto-parietal AON are linked to the social deficits characteristic of ASD.     

A case series of patients with poorly-tolerated arrhythmias related to a preexcitation syndrome and presenting with atypical ECG

The aim of study was to report different and unusual patterns of preexcitation syndrome (PS) noted in patients referred for studied for poorly-tolerated arrhythmias and their frequency. Electrophysiologic study (EPS) is an easy means to identify a patient with PS at risk of serious events. However the main basis for this diagnosis is the ECG which associates short PR interval and widening of QRS complex with a delta wave.     

Help seeking in older Asian people with dementia in Melbourne: Using the Cultural Exchange Model to explore barriers and enablers

The prevalence of dementia is increasing in Australia. Limited research is available on access to Cognitive Dementia and Memory Services (CDAMS) for people with dementia from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities. This study aimed to determine the barriers and enablers to accessing CDAMS for people with dementia and their families of Chinese and Vietnamese backgrounds. Consultations with community members, community workers and health professionals were conducted using the “Cultural Exchange Model” framework. For carers, barriers to accessing services included the complexity of the health system, lack of time, travel required to get to services, language barriers, interpreters and lack of knowledge of services. Similarly, community workers and health professionals identified language, interpreters, and community perceptions as key barriers to service access. Strategies to increase knowledge included providing information via radio, printed material and education in community group settings. The “Cultural Exchange Model” enabled engagement with and modification of the approaches to meet the needs of the targeted CALD communities.     

Balance control interferes with the tracing performance of a pattern with mirror-reversed vision in older persons

GeroScience - When tracing a template with mirror-reversed vision (or distorted vision), the sensory information arising from the movement does not match the expected sensory consequences. In such...     

Diagnosis and preoperative imaging of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2: current status and future directions

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is a rare autosomal dominant syndrome caused by mutations in the RET protooncogene and is characterized by a strong penetrance of medullary thyroid carcinoma (all subtypes) and is often accompanied by pheochromocytoma (MEN2A/2B) and primary hyperparathyroidism (MEN2A). The evaluation and management of MEN2‐related tumours is often different from that of sporadic counterparts. This review article provides an overview of clinical manifestations, diagnosis and surgical management of MEN2 patients. This review also presents applications of the most up‐to‐date imaging modalities to MEN2 patients that are tightly linked to the clinical management and aims to guide physicians towards a rationale for the use of imaging prior to prophylactic thyroidectomy, initial surgery and reoperations for persistent/recurrent disease. This review also concludes that, in the near future, it is expected that these patients will indeed benefit from newly developed positron emission tomography approaches which will target peptide receptors and protein kinases. Identification of MEN2‐specific radiopharmaceuticals will also soon arise from molecular profiling studies. Furthermore, subtotal (cortical‐sparing) adrenalectomy, which is a valid option in MEN2 for avoiding long‐term steroid replacement, will benefit from an accurate estimation through imaging of differential adrenocortical function.