Print

---

CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS  By Joe Bruman  July 2000     Page 1 of 3

Deuschl G, Koller W (eds);Neur 2000 Supplement 4:S1-S46:
Nine articles (to be reviewed separately elsewhere) summarizing
present knowledge about Essential Tremor, surprisingly neglected
in view of its prevalence (about 5% of population over 40).

Minagar A et al;Neur 1999;53:433-434:
Scopolamine, a plant-derived belladonna alkaloid, long valued for
its anticholinergic and sedative properties, is very popular as a
transdermal patch to prevent seasickness. But it also may cause
psychosis in susceptible users. Authors report a patient who,
besides other drugs, was taking Sinemet, Mirapex, and Eldepryl
for PD. Patient's hallucinations, delusions, and agitation
reverted promptly to normal state when the patch was removed.

Zappia M et al;Neur 2000;54:1910-1915:
It's generally accepted that levodopa therapy in early-stage
PD has a short-duration response (SDR), lasting a few hours
after each dose, and a long-duration response (LDR) that can
persist for several days after treatment is stopped. But this
double-blind crossover trial in 24 patients shows LDR much more
likely with bigger doses 24 or 48 hours apart, than with roughly
equivalent smaller doses 8 hours apart. This flatly opposes the
conventional wisdom that (for reasons other than LDR) excursions
of L-dopa plasma concentration should be minimized by taking it
in frequent small doses.

Hurtig H et al;Neur 2000;54:1916-1921:
Pathologic study of 22 demented and 20 nondemented PD patients
confirms that, as indication of dementia, presence in the cortex
of a-synuclein-containing Lewy bodies is more sensitive than
Alzheimer's-like pathology such as tangles or amyloid plaques.

Brooks D;J Neur N'surg Psych 2000;68:685-690 (editorial)
Concise review of dopamine agonists for treatment of PD, with
arguments for preference over levodopa as initial treatment,
and feature details for each of the 5 major ones.

Bassotti G et al;J Neur N'surg Psych 2000;68:768-770:
Responding to prevalence of constipation in PD, they measured
internal and external physical parameters in 31 patients, to
help define the phenomenon.

Krack P et al:Neur 2000;54:2182-2184:
Case report of parkinsonism following ischemic stroke which,
despite similarity to MRI and PET scan features of PD, didn't
respond either to levodopa or to subthalamic nucleus DBS.

Allain H;BMJ, 13 May 2000;1287-1288:
Brief tutorial on diagnosis and treatment of depression in PD,
urging more usage of antidepressant drugs, such as SSRIs.

Ross G et al;JAMA, 24 May 2000:2674-2679:
Higher coffee intake is associated with lower incidence of PD,
probably related to caffeine but independent of smoking.


CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS   By Joe Bruman   July 2000  Page 2 of 3

Di Monte D et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:459-466:
The simulated PD due to MPTP is dose-sensitive. Monkeys given
MPTP insufficient to cause visible signs of PD nevertheless
developed dyskinesia when given levodopa, but not as
consistently as those with full-blown MPTP-induced PD.

Montgomery E et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:467-473:
First of 2 reports about their test battery for early detection
of PD. The first trial, of 19 normal controls and 18 patients
with suspected PD, was for calibration of the tests.

Montgomery E et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:474-478:
In this second report of their early-PD detection test battery,
which includes tests of motor function, olfaction, and mood, the
authors tried it out by following 212 test subjects for a year.

Goetz C et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:479-484:
They monitored progression of PD motor impairment in two groups
having similar duration of the disease but at different stages
of progression, namely Hoehn-Yahr II and Hoehn-Yahr III. Those
who reached Stage III sooner continued to deteriorate faster
during the ensuing 4-year followup.

Hauser R et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:485-489:
Observing rate of PD progression, to test new therapy such as a
neuroprotective agent, requires eliminating symptomatic effects
of any current therapy. A typical regimen, bromocriptine plus
levodopa/carbidopa, requires a 2-week washout beforehand.

Fernandez H et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:490-496:
They studied records of 24,402 PD patients in nursing homes,
finding behavioral problems equally common in about 1/3 of men
and women, but with gender differences in the type of problem
behavior and drug treatment given for it.

Welsh M et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:497-502:
By questionnaire to some subjects in a safety and efficacy trial
of tolcapone (Tasmar), they found illness impact and adjustment
to illness independent on whether a subject was getting tolcapone
or placebo.

Benamer T et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:503-510:
In a blinded study of 158 confirmed PD patients, 27 with ET, and
35 healthy controls, they determined that visual assessment of
single-photon-emission computerized tomography (SPECT) using the
marker [123I]-FP-CIT can accurately distinguish PD from ET.

Montgomery E et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:511-515:
Response of PD, ET, and normal control groups to a standardized
physical task suggests that PD and ET have some common features.

Louis E et al;Mov Disord 2000;15:516-523:
They tried a standardized diagnostic questionnaire on 95 ET
patients and confirmed that it is accurate and  reliable.


CURRENT SCIENCE REVIEWS  By Joe Bruman  July 2000   Page 3 of 3

Lancet, 17 June 2000, 2142 (feature editorial)
Concise review of stem cell research, transplantation, and
regeneration prospects for degenerative diseases such as PD.

BMJ, 3 June 2000:1492 (news item):
Analysis of existing data on 8004 men who have been subjects  of
several other reports in a long-term study showed an inverse
relation between caffeine (mostly as coffee) intake and incidence
of PD. Casual users were a third as likely, and heavy users
(28 ounces or more of coffee per day) only a fifth as likely as
non-users, to develop PD.

Nurmi E et al;Ann Neur 2000;47:804-808:
Positron-emission tomography (PET) scans about two years apart,
in 8 PD patients and 7 healthy controls, provided sensitive
indication of the rate of PD progression.

Jahanshahi M et al;Brain 2000;123:1142-1154:
Study of 13 PD recipients of deep-brain stimulation (DBS)
implants in different locations, to see if DBS affects executive
or cognitive function in such patients, with mixed results.

Eisensehr I et al;Brain 2000;123:1155-1160:
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) may occur
together with PD or independently. Authors used single-photon-
emission computed tomography (SPECT) to compare patients having
PD, those with RBD, and controls, finding reduction of striatal
dopamine transporters common to the first two groups.


--
J. R. Bruman   (818) 789-3694
3527 Cody Road
Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013