…PD prior to the onset of motor symptoms. A concern, however, is that HRV becomes less common with age. A new study assessed HRV in 164 older PD subjects and healthy controls (Christiansen et al. AAN 2017; abstract P01.110). Mean age was 75 years for PD patients and 81 years for controls. None of the HRV or EKG variables assessed differentiated PD subjects and controls, suggesting that HRV may be a useful measure only in younger subjects. Stroke Po…
…high risk of significant disability progression over the next 5-10 years. Comment Dr. Paul Giacomini: The advent of numerous new disease modifying therapies in recent years has greatly expanded the therapeutic options available for patients with MS. However, this has also presented new challenges to patients and physicians alike, specifically with regard to when to switch therapies, and what are the optimal agents and sequences to use. Significan…
…he strengths and limitations of using non-randomized controlled data to guide clinical decisions, and the merits of MEDA (minimal evidence of disease activity) as a benchmark of treatment success. Part 2: The group discusses useful criteria for determining treatment failure, and strategies for sequencing therapies in clinical practice….
…eurodegener Dis Manag 2015;5:413-424; free full text at www.futuremedicine.com/doi/pdf/10.2217/nmt.15.33). For example, vitamin D deficiency has been shown to prevent the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), and vitamin D receptor knock-out mice do not develop EAE (reviewed in DeLuca & Plum. Photochem Photobiol Sci 2016; epublished December 2, 2016). In addition, an Australian case-control study found that sun exposure a…
…1:e0151081, free full text at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4786266/pdf/pone.0151081.pdfAbstract). Subjects were assessed at baseline and at 6 months. The primary outcome measure was change from baseline in ADAS-cog. Blood samples were obtained for C-reactive protein (CRP) inflammatory cytokines (tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-10), and antibodies to Porphyromonas gingivalis, a Gram-negative anaerobe implicated in periodontal dise…