► Bougea, A., Koros, C., Papagiannakis, N., Simitsi, A.-M., Prentakis, A., Papadimitriou, D., Pachi, I., Antonelou, R., Angelopoulou, E., Beratis, I., Bozi, M., Papageorgiou, S. G., Trapali, X. G., Stamelou, M., & Stefanis, L. (2021). Serum uric acid in LRRK2 related Parkinson’s disease: Longitudinal data from the PPMI study. Journal of Parkinson’s Disease, 11(2), 633-640. https://doi.org/10.3233/jpd-202337
Background
Previous studies have highlighted serum uric acid as a putative idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (iPD) biomarker. Only one study, so far, showed higher levels of serum uric acid in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK + 2) carriers compared to those who developed PD, however a longitudinal comparison between LRRK2 + PD and healthy controls (HC) has not been performed.
Objective
The aim of this study was to determine whether there are longitudinal differences in serum uric acid between iPD, LRRK2 + PD and HC and their association with motor and non-motor features.
Methods
Longitudinal data of uric acid of 282 de novo iPD, 144 LRRK2 + PD patients, and 195 age-matched HC were obtained from the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) database. We also used longitudinal Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Movement Disorder Society–Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III (MDS-UPDRS-III), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) scores, and DaTSCAN striatal binding ratios (SBRs).
Results
Longitudinal uric acid measurements were significantly lower in LRRK2 + PD patients compared to HC up to 5 years follow-up. There was no significant impact or correlation of adjusted or unadjusted uric acid levels with MoCA, MDS-UPDRS III, or GDS scores, the presence of RBD or DAT-SCAN SBRs.
Conclusion
LRRK2 + PD group had significantly lower uric acid concentrations compared to HC after adjusting for age, sex and baseline BMI up to 5 years follow-up. There were no significant associations between uric acid levels and indices of disease severity. These findings identify serum uric acid as a marker linked to LRRK2 + PD.
► Economou, A., Beratis, I., Papadimitriou, E., Yannis, G., & Papageorgiou, S. G. (2021). Intraindividual variability in driving simulator parameters of healthy drivers of different ages. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 78, 91-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2021.02.002
Intraindividual variability is a fundamental behavioural characteristic of aging but has been examined to a very limited extent in driving. This study investigated intraindividual variability in driving simulator measures in healthy drivers of different ages using the coefficient of variation (COV) as a variability measure. Participants were healthy volunteers who were regular drivers, who were divided into a “young” group, a “middle-aged” group, and an “old” group. They drove in two environments (rural, 72 drivers; urban, 60 drivers), under conditions of moderate and high traffic load, without and with distraction (conversation). Significant differences in COV were observed in the rural condition for headway distance and lateral position as a function of traffic load, with high traffic (without and with distraction) resulting in increased COV of headway and decreased COV of lateral position. Significant differences in COV were observed in the urban condition for headway distance only, with high traffic (without and with distraction) resulting in increased COV of headway. No age effects were found for any of the driving conditions. The results indicate that traffic load affected headway distance and lateral position in opposite directions in all three age groups: high traffic resulted in increased variability of headway in both rural and urban conditions but in decreased variability of lateral position in the rural conditions compared to moderate traffic irrespective of distraction. The study indicates that driving conditions affect the intraindividual variability of driving measures in selective ways, which may be linked to the extent of automatization of the driving variables and to adaptive changes to traffic condition challenges.
► Liozidou, A., Traikapi, A., Stanitsa, E., Kontaxopoulou, D., Fragkiadaki, S., Beratis, I., Nunez-Fernandez, S., Rivera, D., Kingsley, K., & Arango-Lasprilla, J. C. (2021). Neuropsychology in Greece: Results from a survey of practicing professionals. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult. https://doi.org/10.1080/23279095.2021.1944145
Neuropsychology is a fast-growing specialty in Greece. This study surveyed the status of neuropsychologists in Greece investigating several aspects of the profession. An online-based questionnaire collected data from December 2019 to February 2020. A total of 133 participants specialized in neuropsychology were included in the final sample: 81% of the participants were women with a mean age of 35 years. In the total sample, 25.8% of the participants reported working in the hospital system, 18.5% in the university or college, and 17.7% in a private practice job. Greek professionals cited to engage actively in assessment (87.9%), in research (65.1%), in rehabilitation (47.7%), and teaching (30.2%). Professionals primarily declared to assess individuals with dementia (80.3%), depression (47.7%), and stroke (44.0%), and they reported neurologists, psychiatrists and psychologists as their leading sources of referrals. The top five perceived barriers to the field include the lack of recognized specialty (75.9%), the lack of clinical training opportunities (63.9%), the lack of strong professional associations (57.9%), the lack of access to neuropsychological instruments (57.9%) and the lack of willingness to collaborate between professionals (48.9%). The average monthly income of professionals represents a ratio of 0.76 in comparison to that of other scientists in the country and is the lowest reported among other countries. Despite the significant development of the profession, it is essential to create more clinical training opportunities, apply practices systematically to diverse populations, redefine the specialty of neuropsychology in the national health system of the country, and advocate for the profession.
► Pachi, I., Koros, C., Simitsi, A. M., Papadimitriou, D., Bougea, A., Prentakis, A., Papagiannakis, N., Bozi, M., Antonelou, R., Angelopoulou, E., Beratis, I., Stamelou, M., Trapali, X. G., Papageorgiou, S. G., & Stefanis, L. (2021). Apathy: An underestimated feature in GBA and LRRK2 non-manifesting mutation carriers. Parkinsonism & Related Disorders, 91, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parkreldis.2021.08.008
Introduction
Higher prevalence of motor and non-motor features has been observed in non-manifesting mutation carriers of Parkinson's Disease (PD) compared to Healthy Controls (HC). The aim was to detect the differences between GBA and LRRK2 mutation carriers without PD and HC on neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional retrospective study of non-manifesting GBA and LRRK2 mutation carriers and HC enrolled into Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI). Data extracted from the PPMI database contained: demographics and performance in MoCA scale and MDS-UPDRS scale part 1A (neuropsychiatric symptoms). All six features were treated as both continuous (MDS-UPDRS individual scores) and categorical variables (MDS-UPDRS individual score>0 and MDS-UPDRS individual score = 0). Logistic regression analyses were applied to evaluate the association between mutation carrying status and neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Results
In this study, the neuropsychiatric evaluation was performed in 285 GBA non-manifesting carriers, 369 LRRK2 non-manifesting carriers and 195 HC. We found that GBA non-manifesting mutation carriers were 2.6 times more likely to present apathy compared to HC, even after adjustment for covariates (adjusted OR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.1–6.3, p = 0.031). The higher percentage of apathy for LRRK2 carriers compared to HC was marginally non-significant. GBA carriers were 1.5 times more likely to develop features of anxiety compared to LRRK2 carriers (adjusted OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1–2.2, p = 0.015). Other neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as psychotic or depressive manifestations, did not differ between groups.
Conclusion
Symptoms of apathy could be present in the prediagnostic period of non-manifesting mutation carriers, especially, GBA. Longitudinal data, including detailed neuropsychiatric evaluation and neuroimaging, would be essential to further investigate the pathophysiological basis of this finding.
► Stanitsa, E., Economou, A., Beratis, I., Kontaxopoulou, D., Fragkiadaki, S., Papastefanopoulou, V., Pavlou, D., Papantoniou, P., Kroupis, C., Papatriantafyllou, J., Stefanis, L., Yannis, G., & Papageorgiou, S. G. (2021). Effect of apolipoprotein E4 on the driving behavior of patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 84(3), 1005-1014. https://doi.org/10.3233/jad-210622
Background
The driving behavior of patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease dementia (ADD) and patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is frequently characterized by errors. A genetic factor affecting cognition is apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), with carriers of APOE4 showing greater episodic memory impairment than non-carriers. However, differences in the driving performance of the two groups have not been investigated.
Objective
To compare driving performance in APOE4 carriers and matched non-carriers.
Methods
Fourteen APOE4 carriers and 14 non-carriers with amnestic MCI or mild ADD underwent detailed medical and neuropsychological assessment and participated in a driving simulation experiment, involving driving in moderate and high traffic volume in a rural environment. Driving measures were speed, lateral position, headway distance and their SDs, and reaction time. APOE was genotyped through plasma samples.
Results
Mixed two-way ANOVAs examining traffic volume and APOE4 status showed a significant effect of traffic volume on all driving variables, but a significant effect of APOE4 on speed variability only. APOE4 carriers were less variable in their speed than non-carriers; this remained significant after a Bonferroni correction. To further examine variability in the driving performance, coefficients of variation (COV) were computed. Larger headway distance COV and smaller lateral position COV were observed in high compared to moderate traffic. APOE4 carriers had smaller speed COV compared to non-carriers.
Conclusion
The lower speed variability of APOE4 carriers in the absence of neuropsychological test differences indicates reduced speed adaptations, possibly as a compensatory strategy. Simulated driving may be a sensitive method for detecting performance differences in the absence of cognitive differences.