REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) 63RD ANNUAL MEETING, HONOLULU, HAWAII, APRIL 9-16, 2011 – Symptoms of anxiety may be associated with atrophy in discrete brain regions in mild AD patients, according to the most recent report from the Alzheimer Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (Poulin et al. AAN 2011; abstract P06.188).
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ECG abnormalities may be PD risk factor
July 6, 2011REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) 63RD ANNUAL MEETING, HONOLULU, HAWAII, APRIL 9-16, 2011 – An analysis of subjects in the Cardiovascular Health Study in the U.S. has reported that electrocardiographic abnormalities may be a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease (Jain et al. AAN 2011; abstract S03.004). This is the first reported link between ECG findings and PD risk.
Traumatic brain injury: no effect on AD phenotype
July 6, 2011REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) 63RD ANNUAL MEETING, HONOLULU, HAWAII, APRIL 9-16, 2011 – The possible link between Alzheimer’s disease and a history of traumatic brain injury is unclear (for a review see Jellinger KA. Curr Opin Neurol 2004; 17: 719-723). This issue was examined in a retrospective analysis of pathology data for the period 1997 to 2010 (Mehta et al. AAN 2011; abstract P07.244). Traumatic brain injury was defined as a closed head injury with loss of consciousness. The study sample included 108 subjects with AD, of whom 11 had a history of brain injury.
First report of increased risk of prostate cancer in PD
June 29, 2011REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY (AAN) 63RD ANNUAL MEETING, HONOLULU, HAWAII, APRIL 9-16, 2011 – Epidemiological studies have suggested that cancer risk is generally lower in PD patients compared to those without PD (11% vs. 14%), including a lower risk of prostate cancer (RR 0.74) (Driver et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007; 16: 1260-1265; free full text at http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/16/6/1260.long). The risk of certain cancers (e.g. melanoma) may be higher.