MSA Patients (msa + patient)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Assessment of dementia in patients with multiple system atrophy

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 5 2009
M. Kitayama
Background and purpose:, We investigated dementia in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) in order to characterize the prevalence and nature of impairments in these patients. Methods:, Fifty-eight MSA patients were recruited in our institution between April 1996 and December 2006 and investigated. Results:, Of 58 patients, 10 were diagnosed with dementia. There were no significant differences in age at onset, gender, duration of disease, or severity of cerebellar dysfunction between patients with and without dementia. The early and delayed heart to mediastinum (H/M) ratios obtained with 123I-metaidobenylguanidine (MIBG) cardiac scintigraphy were significantly decreased in patients with dementia compared with those without dementia. Of the 10 patients with dementia, three were found to have cognitive decline that preceded onset of motor symptoms. White matter lesions were evident in these patients, whilst frontal atrophy was prominent in patients whose cognitive decline was preceded by onset of motor symptoms. Conclusions:, Dementia in patients with MSA may be more common than previously thought, furthermore, we speculate that clinical features of dementia in these patients might be heterogeneous. [source]


Progression of dysautonomia in multiple system atrophy: a prospective study of self-perceived impairment

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY, Issue 1 2007
M. Köllensperger
To assess severity and progression of self-perceived dysautonomia and their impact on health-related quality of life (Hr-QoL) in multiple system atrophy (MSA), twenty-seven patients were recruited by the European MSA Study Group (EMSA-SG). At baseline, all patients completed the Composite Autonomic Symptom Scale (COMPASS) and the 36 item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and they were assessed using the 3-point global disease severity scale (SS-3) and the Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS). After 6 months follow-up, the self completed COMPASS Change Scale (CCS), the SF-36, SS-3, and UMSARS were obtained. MSA patients showed marked self-perceived dysautonomia at baseline visit and pronounced worsening of dysautonomia severity on the CCS at follow-up. Severity and progression of dysautonomia did not correlate with age, disease duration, motor impairment and overall disease severity at baseline. There were no significant differences between genders and motor subtypes. Baseline COMPASS scores were, however, inversely correlated with SF-36 scores. Progression of self-perceived dysautonomia did not correlate with global disease progression. Hr-QoL scores were stable during follow-up. This is the first study to investigate self-perceived dysautonomia severity in MSA and its evolution over time. Our data suggest that dysautonomia should be recognized as a key target for therapeutic intervention in MSA. [source]


Tremulous arytenoid movements predict severity of glottic stenosis in multiple system atrophy,

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 10 2010
Tetsutaro Ozawa MD
Abstract To determine whether tremulous arytenoid movements predict the severity of glottic stenosis in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA), 28 MSA patients and 14 age-matched controls underwent fiberoptic laryngoscopy with video monitoring during wakefulness and under anesthesia induced by intravenous injection of propofol. Presence or absence of tremulous arytenoid movements was recorded during wakefulness. The ratio of glottic stenosis (%), which represents the extent of airway narrowing under anesthesia, was obtained by measuring the inspiratory glottic angle during wakefulness and under anesthesia. The median ratio of glottic stenosis was significantly higher in patients with MSA (57.5%) than in control subjects (0.5%). Tremulous arytenoid movements were characterized by shaking movements of the arytenoid region including the vocal folds, which are most apparent in the arytenoid cartilage. In this study, tremulous arytenoid movements were observed in 18 (64.2%) of 28 patients with MSA, who displayed a significantly higher median ratio of glottic stenosis (71.2%) than other patients (34.9%). None of the control subjects exhibited tremulous arytenoid movements. A clear correlation existed between the ratio of glottic stenosis and disease duration. Our observations indicate that tremulous arytenoid movements are a marker of the severity of glottic stenosis, which confers an increased risk of upper airway obstruction in patients with MSA. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society [source]


Gene expression changes in postmortem tissue from the rostral pons of multiple system atrophy patients

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 6 2007
Anna Jelaso Langerveld PhD
Abstract Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by various degrees of Parkinsonism, cerebellar ataxia, and autonomic dysfunction. In this report, Affymetrix DNA microarrays were used to measure changes in gene expression in the rostral pons, an area that undergoes extensive damage in MSA, but not other synucleinopathies. Significant changes in expression of 254 genes (180 downregulated and 74 upregulated) occurred in pons tissue from MSA patients when compared with control patients. The downregulated genes were primarily associated with biological functions known to be impaired in Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurological diseases; for example, downregulation occurred in genes associated with mitochondrial function, ubiquitin-proteasome function, protein modification, glycolysis/metabolism, and ion transport. On the other hand, upregulated genes were associated with transcription/RNA modification, inflammation, immune system function, and oligodendrocyte maintenance and function. Immunocytochemistry, in conjunction with quantitative image analysis, was carried out to characterize ,-synuclein protein expression as glial cytoplasmic inclusions in the pontocerebellar tract in rostral pons tissue and to determine the relationship between the amount of aggregated ,-synuclein protein and changes in specific gene expression. Of the regulated genes, 86 were associated with the amount of observed aggregated ,-synuclein protein in the rostral pons tissue. These data indicate that cells in the pons of MSA patients show changes in gene expression previously associated with the substantia nigra of PD patients and/or other neurological diseases, with additional changes, for example related to oligodendrocyte function unique to MSA. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society [source]


Incomplete emptying and urinary retention in multiple-system atrophy: When does it occur and how do we manage it?

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 6 2006
Takashi Ito MD
Abstract Neurogenic urinary retention can be a major cause of morbidity in multiple-system atrophy (MSA). However, the timing of its appearance has not been entirely clear, and neither have the medical and surgical modalities for managing patients. We present the data obtained from our uroneurological assessment and therapeutic interventions at various stages of MSA. We recruited 245 patients with probable MSA. We measured postvoid residuals (PVR) and performed EMG cystometry in all patients. The grand average volume of PVR was 140 mL (range, 0,760) in our patients. The average PVR volume was 71 mL in the first year, increasing to 129 mL in the second year and 170 mL by the fifth year. The percentages of patients with complete urinary retention, acontractile detrusor, and detrusor,sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) also increased. The increase in PVR resulted in a decrease in functional bladder capacity, together with an increase in detrusor overactivity and neurogenic sphincter EMG. Clean intermittent self-catheterization (CISC) was introduced in most patients. Bladder-oriented therapy (cholinergic agents) had a limited value, whereas urethra-oriented therapy benefited patients with DSD (surgery) for up to 2 years, but syncope occurred in a subset of patients (,-blockers). MSA patients present with large PVR by the second year of illness, and that large PVR secondarily causes urinary frequency. CISC is the recommended treatment for most patients. Urethra-oriented medication and surgery benefit patients who would have difficulty performing CISC, although careful consideration of the short-term efficacy and potential adverse effects of these alternatives is mandatory. © 2006 Movement Disorder Society [source]


Development and validation of the Unified Multiple System Atrophy Rating Scale (UMSARS)

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 12 2004
Gregor K. Wenning MD
Abstract We aimed to develop and validate a novel rating scale for multiple system atrophy (Unified Multiple System Atrophy Rating Scale - UMSARS). The scale comprises the following components: Part I, historical, 12 items; Part II, motor examination, 14 items; Part III, autonomic examination; and Part IV, global disability scale. For validation purposes, 40 MSA patients were assessed in four centers by 4 raters per center (2 senior and 2 junior raters). The raters applied the UMSARS, as well as a range of other scales, including the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale (ICARS). Internal consistency was high for both UMSARS-I (Crohnbach's alpha = 0.84) and UMSARS-II (Crohnbach's alpha = 0.90) sections. The interrater reliability of most of the UMSARS-I and -II items as well as of total UMSARS-I and -II subscores was substantial (k (w) = 0.6,0.8) to excellent (k (w) > 0.8). UMSARS-II correlated well with UPDRS-III and ICARS (rs > 0.8). Depending on the degree of the patient's disability, completion of the entire UMSARS took 30 to 45 minutes. Based on our findings, the UMSARS appears to be a multidimensional, reliable, and valid scale for semiquantitative clinical assessments of MSA patients. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society [source]


Neuronal activity in the globus pallidus of multiple system atrophy patients

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 12 2004
Luiz C.M. Pereira MD
Abstract The pathophysiological changes in neural activity that characterize multiple system atrophy (MSA) are largely unknown. We recorded the activity of pallidal neurons in 3 patients with clinical and radiological features of MSA who underwent unilateral microelectrode-guided pallidotomy for disabling parkinsonism. Findings in these patients were compared with 4 control patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The position, firing rates, and firing patterns of single neurons in the pallidal complex were analyzed in both MSA and PD patients. The mean spontaneous firing rate of neurons in the internal segment of the globus pallidus internus (GPii) was significantly lower in MSA than in PD patients. There were no significant differences between MSA and PD patients, however, in firing rates of neurons in the external globus pallidus (GPe) or in the external segment of GPi (GPie). In addition, no significant differences in firing pattern were found between MSA and PD patients. In conclusion, this study has shown that firing rates of neurons in GPii but not in GPie and GPe are different in MSA patients compared with that in PD patients, a finding that may reflect the poor clinical results of pallidotomy reported in patients with MSA. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society [source]


Reduced genital sensitivity in female patients with multiple system atrophy of parkinsonian type

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 4 2003
Wolfgang H. Oertel MD
Abstract According to the consensus statement on the diagnosis of multiple system atrophy (MSA), erectile dysfunction is required for male patients to fulfil the urinary incontinence criterion. However, there is no equivalent item for female patients. We questioned 19 female patients with MSA of the parkinsonian type (MSA-P), 28 female patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and 27 healthy controls on their genital sensitivity. A total of 47% of the MSA patients but only 4% of the PD patients and 4% of the control group admitted to reduced genital sensitivity, a highly significant difference (P < 0.001). Moreover, the appearance of reduced genital sensitivity in female MSA patients showed a close temporal relation to the onset of the disease. If these preliminary results can be confirmed and further specified in a larger sample, a historical item of reduced genital sensitivity in female patients might become a diagnostic feature for MSA, comparable to erectile dysfunction in male patients. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society [source]


Contribution of the interleukin-1, gene polymorphism in multiple system atrophy

MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 4 2002
Masataka Nishimura MD
Abstract We studied genetic polymorphisms in the promoter region at position -511 of the interleukin (IL) -1, gene (IL-1B-511) and at position -889 of the IL-1, gene (IL-1A-889), in 111 Japanese patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA) and 160 controls. The distribution of IL-1B-511 was significantly different between MSA patients and controls, because of the under-representation of patients with homozygotes for allele 2 (IL-1B-511*2), a high producer of IL-1,. The frequency of IL-1A-889*2, a high secretor of IL-1,, was also decreased in MSA patients. Our findings suggest that abnormal cytokine expression may be implicated in the pathogenesis of MSA. © 2002 Movement Disorder Society [source]