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Cumulative Estrogen Exposure Linked to Lower Stroke Risk

These findings could help clinicians sustain their postmenopausal patients’ neurological health.

Efficacy and Safety of Leriglitazone in Patients with Friedreich Ataxia

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal, recessive, multisystemic disease characterized by progressive weakness, ataxia, and dysarthria starting in childhood and resulting in severe morbidity and premature death. There are no approved treatments for FRDA. With recent preclinical studies suggesting potential benefit of PPARPγ agonists in motor function and reduced radiographic disease activity, the current study explores the effect of leriglitazone, a PPARPγ agonist, in patients with moderate to severe FRDA.

Late-Onset Pompe Disease: A Review of Clinical Features

In this systematic literature review of studies that evaluate motor and locomotion function in patients with adult, late-onset Pompe disease, the clinical spectrum reveals weakness of respiratory, axial, and proximal limb muscles.

Can a Blood-Based Test Serve as a Biomarker for Parkinson’s Disease?

This proof-of-concept study proposes that a noninvasive assay detecting pathology-associated α-synuclein extracted from blood may reveal a reliable biomarker for Parkinson’s disease.

Do Spinal Cord Stimulators Really Help for Chronic Pain?

A comprehensive analysis of a large clinical database regarding treatment of patients with chronic low back pain did not support the benefit of spinal cord stimulators compared to conventional medical management for chronic pain.

Magnetic Brain Stimulation for Alzheimer’s Disease

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, targeted at the precuneus in an effort to maintain a normal default mode network, shows some promise in slowing cognitive decline and maintaining normal electrophysiology in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.

Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy and Brain Hemorrhage

When comparing the time course of hematoma expansion between deep hematomas and lobar hematomas from cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and other etiologies, lobar hematomas from CAA show greater expansion and a longer period of risk for hematoma growth compared to deep hematomas.

Brain Iron Chelation with Deferiprone in Parkinson’s Disease

In a randomized, placebo-controlled treatment trial, deferiprone administered to early, levodopa-naive Parkinson’s disease patients over 36 weeks was associated with worsening of their symptoms, in spite of imaging evidence for reduction of iron in the substantia nigra.

Body Weight Decline in Cognitively Intact Older Adults May Predict Future Cognitive Impairment

Among cognitively intact individuals, those who develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had faster body mass index (BMI) decline and significantly lower BMI seven years before MCI diagnosis. However, after MCI diagnosis, there was no difference in BMI decline between patients who developed dementia and those who did not.

What Is Oculopharyngodistal Myopathy?

Distal limb myopathies are rare disorders and are difficult to diagnose. Current muscle biopsy technology, coupled with genetic analysis, offers the best hope for an accurate diagnosis of these unusual neuromuscular disorders. Unfortunately, treatments remain elusive.