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Movement Disorders : Official Journal... Jul 2017Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neuropathologically defined disease presenting with a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes. (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neuropathologically defined disease presenting with a broad spectrum of clinical phenotypes.
OBJECTIVE
To identify clinical features and investigations that predict or exclude PSP pathology during life, aiming at an optimization of the clinical diagnostic criteria for PSP.
METHODS
We performed a systematic review of the literature published since 1996 to identify clinical features and investigations that may predict or exclude PSP pathology. We then extracted standardized data from clinical charts of patients with pathologically diagnosed PSP and relevant disease controls and calculated the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of key clinical features for PSP in this cohort.
RESULTS
Of 4166 articles identified by the database inquiry, 269 met predefined standards. The literature review identified clinical features predictive of PSP, including features of the following 4 functional domains: ocular motor dysfunction, postural instability, akinesia, and cognitive dysfunction. No biomarker or genetic feature was found reliably validated to predict definite PSP. High-quality original natural history data were available from 206 patients with pathologically diagnosed PSP and from 231 pathologically diagnosed disease controls (54 corticobasal degeneration, 51 multiple system atrophy with predominant parkinsonism, 53 Parkinson's disease, 73 behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia). We identified clinical features that predicted PSP pathology, including phenotypes other than Richardson's syndrome, with varying sensitivity and specificity.
CONCLUSIONS
Our results highlight the clinical variability of PSP and the high prevalence of phenotypes other than Richardson's syndrome. The features of variant phenotypes with high specificity and sensitivity should serve to optimize clinical diagnosis of PSP. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Topics: Humans; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive
PubMed: 28500752
DOI: 10.1002/mds.27034 -
The Neurologist Mar 2017Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) is a human prion disease generally characterized by subacute changes in behavior and intellectual function, often followed by ataxia,... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease (CJD) is a human prion disease generally characterized by subacute changes in behavior and intellectual function, often followed by ataxia, vision changes, and myoclonus. Ten percent of cases may present atypically, both symptomatically and in respect to initial investigations.
METHODS
We report a case of CJD mimicking acute stroke and review all similar cases in the magnetic resonance imaging era reported in English, identified through a PubMed and SCOPUS search.
RESULTS
A 68-year-old woman presented with an acute left parietal syndrome, initially referred as a left middle cerebral artery territory stroke. Structural imaging was unremarkable and focal electroencephalogram changes suggested nonconvulsive status epilepticus. Subsequent clinical progression, with the development of cortical high signal on diffusion-weighted imaging and positive 14-3-3 protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, confirmed a diagnosis of CJD. Review of the literature identified 14 further cases mimicking both anterior and posterior stroke syndromes.
CONCLUSIONS
CJD develops primarily within a population in whom stroke risk factors are common and represents a rare but important stroke mimic. Negative vascular imaging in elderly patients with apparent acute stroke syndromes should prompt diagnostic review including consideration of prion diseases.
Topics: Aged; Brain; Cognition Disorders; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome; Disease Progression; Electroencephalography; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Stroke
PubMed: 28248914
DOI: 10.1097/NRL.0000000000000107 -
Transboundary and Emerging Diseases Feb 2018A number of prion diseases affect humans, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; most of these are due to genetic mutations in the affected individual and occur... (Review)
Review
A number of prion diseases affect humans, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease; most of these are due to genetic mutations in the affected individual and occur sporadically, but some result from transmission of prion proteins from external sources. Of the known animal prion diseases, only bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions have been shown to be transmissible from animals to humans under non-experimental conditions. Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects cervids (e.g., deer and elk) in North America and isolated populations in Korea and Europe. Systematic review methodology was used to identify, select, critically appraise and analyse data from relevant research. Studies were evaluated for adherence to good conduct based on their study design following the Cochrane collaboration's approach to grading the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations (GRADE). Twenty-three studies were included after screening 800 citations from the literature search and evaluating 78 full papers. Studies examined the transmissibility of CWD prions to humans using epidemiological study design, in vitro and in vivo experiments. Five epidemiological studies, two studies on macaques and seven studies on humanized transgenic mice provided no evidence to support the possibility of transmission of CWD prions to humans. Ongoing surveillance in the United States and Canada has not documented CWD transmission to humans. However, two studies on squirrel monkeys provided evidence that transmission of CWD prions resulting in prion disease is possible in these monkeys under experimental conditions and seven in vitro experiments provided evidence that CWD prions can convert human prion protein to a misfolded state. Therefore, future discovery of CWD transmission to humans cannot be entirely ruled out on the basis of current studies, particularly in the light of possible decades-long incubation periods for CWD prions in humans. It would be prudent to continue CWD research and epidemiologic surveillance, exercise caution when handling potentially contaminated material and explore CWD management opportunities.
Topics: Animals; Canada; Cattle; Deer; Europe; Humans; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; North America; Prions; Republic of Korea; Wasting Disease, Chronic
PubMed: 28139079
DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12612 -
BMC Veterinary Research Aug 2016Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, fatal prion disease affecting cervids in a growing number of regions across North America. Projected deer population... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a contagious, fatal prion disease affecting cervids in a growing number of regions across North America. Projected deer population declines and concern about potential spread of CWD to other species warrant strategies to manage this disease. Control efforts to date have been largely unsuccessful, resulting in continuing spread and increasing prevalence. This systematic review summarizes peer-reviewed published reports describing field-applicable CWD control strategies in wild deer populations in North America using systematic review methods. Ten databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature. Following deduplication, relevance screening, full-text appraisal, subject matter expert review and qualitative data extraction, nine references were included describing four distinct management strategies.
RESULTS
Six of the nine studies used predictive modeling to evaluate control strategies. All six demonstrated one or more interventions to be effective but results were dependant on parameters and assumptions used in the model. Three found preferential removal of CWD infected deer to be effective in reducing CWD prevalence; one model evaluated a test and slaughter strategy, the other selective removal of infected deer by predators and the third evaluated increased harvest of the sex with highest prevalence (males). Three models evaluated non-selective harvest of deer. There were only three reports that examined primary data collected as part of observational studies. Two of these studies supported the effectiveness of intensive non-selective culling; the third study did not find a difference between areas that were subjected to culling and those that were not. Seven of the nine studies were conducted in the United States.
CONCLUSIONS
This review highlights the paucity of evaluated, field-applicable control strategies for CWD in wild deer populations. Knowledge gaps in the complex epidemiology of CWD and the intricacies inherent to prion diseases currently pose significant challenges to effective control of this disease in wild deer in North America.
Topics: Animals; Deer; Disease Management; North America; Periodicals as Topic; Research; Wasting Disease, Chronic
PubMed: 27549119
DOI: 10.1186/s12917-016-0804-7 -
The Journal of Maternal-fetal &... Feb 2015Prion diseases (PDs) are fatal neurological disorders that are thought to be caused by the accumulation of an altered variant of a benign, widely expressed protein... (Review)
Review
Prion diseases (PDs) are fatal neurological disorders that are thought to be caused by the accumulation of an altered variant of a benign, widely expressed protein (PrPC) into a distinct pathological conformation(s) (PrPSc). The PDs are so rare but lethal pathologies that need an early diagnosis to adequately support the infected patient. A maternal-fetal transmission during pregnancy has been supposed to be on the basis of animal studies, but till now the effective vertical transmission in humans has not been proved. We present a case of infected pregnant woman with a peculiar pregnancy course and outcome. We also provided a systematic literature review to find the best obstetrical management of women affected by prionic disease during pregnancy. The available data underline the potential risk of prenatal and postnatal transmission of the disease but do not permit to define the exact molecular mechanism of transmission, the best follow-up and recommendations that are useful in both obstetrical and neonatal practice. At present awaiting for further clarifications about this topic, it is mandatory to personalize the management of this rare pregnancy complication according to the maternal-fetal well-being status.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome; Female; Humans; Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications, Infectious; Young Adult
PubMed: 24749800
DOI: 10.3109/14767058.2014.916678 -
Journal of Neuroimaging : Official... 2015Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease during life can be challenging since the huge variability of the symptoms which can be observed, especially in its early stages,... (Review)
Review
Diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease during life can be challenging since the huge variability of the symptoms which can be observed, especially in its early stages, may simulate other common forms of dementia. In latest years, noninvasive techniques such as magnetic resonance, positron emission tomography, and single-photon emission tomography have been evaluated to help clinical neurologists to provide a definite diagnosis. We here provide a systematic review of the current knowledge of neuroimaging in CJD in order to establish the actual state of the art.
Topics: Brain; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome; Evidence-Based Medicine; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Neuroimaging; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tomography, Emission-Computed
PubMed: 24593302
DOI: 10.1111/jon.12098