Additionally, three classes of capsid NAb immune profile were defined based on the ability to inhibit transduction from AAV2 or mutants. While no relationship was

found between transduction, amino acid properties, and NAb titer or its cross-reactivity, these studies map a critical capsid motif involved in all steps of AAV infectivity. Our results suggest that AAV types can be utilized not only as templates to generate mutants with enhanced transduction efficiency but also as substrates for repeat administration.”
“The corpus callosum (CC), the largest inter-hemispheric Linsitinib datasheet tract connecting the association cortices, has been shown to be affected in disorders with aberrant neurodevelopment Previous studies that investigated CC abnormalities in schizophrenia have

reported mixed findings potentially due to various confounding factors In this study, we used magnetic resonance imaging to examine a large sample of antipsychotic-naive schizophrenia patients (n = 66) in comparison with age-, sex-, and handedness-matched (as a group) healthy comparison subjects (n = 46) Mid-sagittal areas of CC sub-regions – namely, the genu, body, isthmus and splenium – were measured based on Witelson’s method with good inter- and intra-rater reliability The genu and body of the CC were significantly smaller in schizophrenia patients in comparison to healthy subjects after controlling for the potential confounding effects of age, sex and intracranial area In BAY 1895344 supplier male E7080 ic50 schizophrenia patients, there was a significant positive correlation between the age at onset of psychosis and the area of the genu. Together, these findings suggest neurodevelopmentally mediated hypoconnectivity in schizophrenia (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd All rights reserved.”
“Background: Previous literature suggests that cell death pathways activated after cerebral ischemia differ between the sexes. While caspase-dependent

mechanisms predominate in the female brain, caspase-independent cell death induced by the activation of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP-1) predominates in the male brain. PARP-1 gene deletion decreases infarction volume in the male brain, but paradoxically increases damage in PARP-1 knockout females.

Purpose: This study examined stroke-induced changes in NAD+, a key energy molecule involved in PARP-1 activation in both sexes.

Methods: Mice were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion and NAD+ levels were assessed. Caspase-3 activity and nuclear translocation were assessed 6 h after ischemia. In additional cohorts, Nicotinamide (500 mg/kg i.p.) a precursor of NAD+ or vehicle was administered and infarction volume was measured 24 h after ischemia.

Results: Males have higher baseline NAD+ levels than females. Significant stroke-induced NAD+ depletion occurred in males and ovariectomized females but not in intact females.

Moreover, the effect was only evident after training and

not at initiation of practice. This is the first DTI study in healthy adults which demonstrates that white matter organization of the interhemispheric connections between the prefrontal structures is strongly correlated with motor learning capability.”
“The cortisol awakening response selleck screening library (CAR) is increasingly recognized as a potential biological marker of psychological and physical health status. Yet, the CAR literature is replete with contradictory results: both supposedly protective and vulnerability psychosocial factors have been associated with both increased and decreased CAR. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the CAR flexibility would be a better indicator of psychological status than CAR magnitude. Forty-two men measures of happiness, perceived stress and neuroticism, and took saliva samples immediately on awakening, then at 15, 30, 45 and 60 min SB431542 manufacturer post-awakening on three study days (i.e., Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). When considering the CAR magnitude, our effects perfectly reflect the inconsistencies previously observed in the Literature (i.e., the main effects of the psychological predictors

are not consistent with each other, and the effect of one predictor on a given day contradicts the effect of the same predictor on another day). However, considering the CAR flexibility leads to a fully consistent pattern: protective factors (i.e., high happiness, low stress, low neurotiscim) are associated with a https://www.selleck.cn/products/BI6727-Volasertib.html flexible CAR (i.e., lower CAR during weekends compared to workdays) whereas vulnerability factors (i.e., low happiness, high stress, high neurotiscim) are associated with a stiff CAR (i.e., same magnitude during weekends and workdays). We conclude that considering the CAR flexibility (e.g., between weekends and workdays) rather than the traditional CAR magnitude might be a way to understand the apparent

conflicts in the CAR literature. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) are permanently paralysed and anaesthetic below the lesion. This morbidity is attributed to the deposition of a dense scar at the injury site, the cellular components of which secrete axon growth inhibitory ligands that prevent severed axons reconnecting with denervated targets. Another complication of SCI is wound cavitation where a fluid filled cyst forms in the peri-lesion neuropil, enlarging over the first few months after injury and causes secondary axonal damage. Wound healing after SCI is accompanied by angiogenesis, which is regulated by angiogenic proteins, produced in response to oxygen deprivation. Necrosis in and about the SCI lesion sites may be suppressed by promoting angiogenesis and the resulting neuropil protection will enhance recovery after SCI.

We have subsequently extended this approach to look at the in vitro activity, in vivo efficacy and pharmacokinetics of an agonist molecule, interferon (IFN)-alpha 2b, fused to an AlbudAb. Here we describe this molecule and show that in this Z VAD FMK format AlbudAb half-life extension technology displays significant advantages in comparison with other methods of half-life extension, in particular genetic fusion to serum albumin. When compared directly IFN-alpha 2b fused to an Albudab shows higher potency, increased serum half-life and greater efficacy than human serum albumin fused to IFN-alpha 2b. AlbudAbs are therefore an ideal platform technology for creation

of therapeutics with agonist activity and long serum half-lives.”
“Introduction: alpha 7-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (alpha 7-nAChR) is one of the major neuronal nAChR subtypes. alpha 7-nAChR is involved in variety of neuronal processes and disorders including schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease. A number of alpha 7-nAChR PET radioligands have been developed, but a quality radiotracer remains to be discovered.

Methods: High binding affinity alpha 7-nAChR ligands A-833834

and A-752274 were radiolabeled with C-11. Baseline and blockadp biodistribution studies in the mouse brain of [C-11]A-833834 (5-(6-(5-[C-11] Selleckchem PF-2341066 methylhexahydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrrol-2(1H)-yl)pyridazin-3-yl)-1H-indole) and [C-11]A-752274 (2-(6-[C-11] methyl-3,6-diazabicyclo[3,2,0]heptan-3-yl)-7-(6-methyl-3,6-diazabicyclo[3.2.0]heptan-3-yl)-9H-fluoren-9-one) were performed. [C-11]A-752274 was evaluated in a baseline baboon PET study.

Results: [C-11]A-833834 and [C-11]A-752274 were synthesized by radiomethylation of corresponding desmethyl precursors.

The radioligands were prepared with radiochemical yield of 12%-32%, high specific radioactivity (330-403 GB1/mu mol) and radiochemical check details purity>95%. Dissection studies with [C-11]A-833834 demonstrated low specific alpha 7-nAChR binding in the mouse brain. [C-11]A-752274 specifically (similar to 50%) labeled alpha 7-nAChR in the mouse thalamus. However, [(11)CA-752274 exhibited low brain uptake in baboon (%SUV<100).

Conclusion: Two novel alpha 7-nAChR ligands radioligands were synthesized and studied in animals. Specific binding of [C-11]A-833834 in the mouse brain is low due to the insufficient binding affinity of the radioligand. The very high binding affinity [C-11]A-752274 exhibited good specific binding in the alpha 7-nAChR-rich mouse brain regions. The low uptake of [C-11]A-752274 in the baboon brain is due to its high hydrophilicity, rapid metabolism or other properties. Future development of alpha 7-nAChR PET radioligands will be based on compounds with high binding affinities and good blood-brain barrier permeability. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

(C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Considering their extremely complicated and hierarchical structure, a long standing question in vascular physio-pathology is how to characterize blood vessels patterns, including which parameters to use. Another question is how to define a pertinent taxonomy, with applications to normal development and to diagnosis and/or staging of diseases.

To address these issues, fractal analysis has been applied by previous investigators to a large variety of healthy or pathologic vascular networks whose fractal dimensions have been sought.

A review of the results selleck inhibitor obtained on healthy vascular networks first shows that no consensus has emerged about whether normal networks must be considered as fractals or not.

Based on a review of previous theoretical work an vascular morphogenesis, we argue that these Nirogacestat clinical trial divergences are the signature of a two-step morphogenesis process, where vascular networks form via progressive penetration of arterial and venous quasi-fractal arborescences into a pre-existing homogeneous capillary mesh. Adopting this perspective, we study the multi-scale behavior of generic patterns (model structures constructed as the superposition of homogeneous meshes and quasi-fractal trees) and of healthy intracortical networks in order to determine the artifactual and true components of their multi-scale behavior. We demonstrate that,

at least in the brain, healthy vascular structures are a superposition of two components: at low scale, a mesh-like capillary component which becomes homogeneous and space-filling over a cut-off length of order of its characteristic length; at larger scale, quasi-fractal branched (tree-like) structures. Such complex structures are consistent with all previous studies on the multi-scale behavior of vascular structures at different scales, resolving the apparent contradiction about their fractal nature.

Consequences regarding the way fractal analysis of vascular networks should be conducted to provide meaningful results are presented. Finally,

consequences for vascular morphogenesis or hemodynamics are discussed, as well as implications in case of pathological conditions, such as cancer. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“To analyze the small-conductance see more calcium-dependent K+ current observed in dopaminergic neurons of the rat midbrain, we have developed a new dynamic current clamping method that incorporates recording of intracellular Ca2+ levels. As reported earlier, blocking the small-conductance current with apamin shifted the firing modes of dopaminergic neurons and changed the firing rate and spike afterhyperpolarization. We modeled the kinetic properties of the current and assessed the model in a real-time computational system. Here, we show that the spike afterhyperpolarization is regulated by the small-conductance current, an effect that is observed in dopaminergic neurons.

Lucifer yellow propagation was inhibited by gap junction blockers. Our findings show that the glial syncitium propagates SPM through gap junctions and further indicate a new role of polyamines in the regulation of the astroglial network under both normal and pathological conditions. NeuroReport 23:1021-1025 (C) 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“In this study, we

evaluated the involvement of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)/nitric oxide (NO) system on the antidepressant-like effects of Prexasertib cost paroxetine in the mouse forced swimming test.

Swim sessions were conducted by placing mice in individual glass cylinders filled with water for 6 min. The duration of behavioral immobility during the last 4 min of the test was evaluated.

Paroxetine (8 and 16 mg/kg, intraperitoneal [i.p.]) significantly reduced the immobility times of mice, whereas lower doses (2 and 4 mg/kg) had no effect. NMDA antagonists MK-801 (0.1 and 0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) and ifenprodil

(1 and 3 mg/kg, i.p.) and the NO synthase inhibitor N(G)-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 30 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly decreased Temsirolimus purchase the immobility time. Lower doses of MK-801 (0.01 and 0.05 mg/kg), ifenprodil (0.1 and 0.5 mg/kg), and L-NAME (10 mg/kg) had no effect. Combined treatment of subeffective doses of paroxetine (4 mg/kg) and MK-801 (0.05 mg/kg), ifenprodil (0.5 mg/kg), and L-NAME (10 mg/kg) robustly exerted an antidepressant-like effect. The noneffective dose of a NO precursor l-arginine

(750 mg/kg, i.p.) prevented the antidepressant-like effect of paroxetine (30 mg/kg).

We suggested, for the first time, a possible role for NMDAR/NO signaling in the antidepressant-like effects of paroxetine, providing a new approach for the treatment of depression.”
“The auditory-evoked potential’s N1 component of the scalp electroencephalogram is a well-established measure of electrical brain activity. The N1 reflects basic auditory processing and is modulated by auditory experience, for instance, by musical training. Here, we explore a possible correlation between the auditory N1 amplitude and cortical architecture in the supratemporal plane. We hypothesize that individual differences in N1 amplitude reflect differential acuity, which might also be reflected by Sotrastaurin differences in auditory cortex anatomy. Auditory potentials evoked by sine wave tones and structural MRI were collected from 27 healthy volunteers. The thickness and surface area of the cortex were calculated using a surface-based morphometry approach. Cortical thickness, rather than surface area, in a cluster on the posterior supratemporal plane, predominantly located on Heschl’s sulcus and lateral aspects of Heschl’s gyrus, correlated with the N1 amplitude. In particular, lower cortical thickness was associated with larger N1 amplitudes.

Rapid and reliable detection methods are needed to identify colonization of nares and extra-nare sites, particularly given recent reports of oropharynx-only

colonization. Detection methods for MRSA/MSSA colonization include check details culture, PCR, and novel methods such as PCR/electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS). Methods: We evaluated 101 healthy military members for S. aureus colonization in the nares, oropharynx, axilla, and groin, using CHROMagar S. aureus medium and Xpert SA Nasal Complete PCR for MRSA/MSSA detection. The same subjects were screened in the nares, oropharynx, and groin using PCR/ESI-TOF-MS. Results: By culture, 3 subjects were MRSA-colonized (all oropharynx) and 34 subjects were MSSA-colonized (all 4 sites). PCR detected oropharyngeal MRSA in 2 subjects, which correlated with culture findings. By PCR, 47 subjects were MSSA-colonized (all 4 sites); however, 43 axillary samples were invalid, 39 of which were associated with deodorant/anti-perspirant Buparlisib use (93%, p < 0.01). By PCR/ESI-TOF-MS, 4 subjects were MRSA-colonized, 2 in the nares and 2 in the oropharynx; however, neither of these correlated with positive MRSA cultures. Twenty-eight subjects had

MSSA by PCR/ESI-TOF-MS, and 41 were found to have possible MRSA (S. aureus with mec A and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CoNS)). Conclusion: The overall 3% MRSA colonization rate is consistent with historical reports, but the oropharynx-only colonization supports more recent findings. Selumetinib in vitro In addition, the use of deodorant/anti-perspirant invalidated axillary PCR samples, limiting its utility. Defining MRSA positivity by PCR/ESI-TOF-MS is complicated by co-colonization of S. aureus with CoNS, which can also carry mecA.”
“Background: We measured serum levels of pre-B cell colony-enhancing factor (PBEF), which has been suggested as a novel biomarker of sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and evaluated its use as a prognostic biomarker. Methods: PBEF was measured in 104 adult

ventilated patients who were diagnosed with sepsis upon admission using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: The mean age of our patients was 62.9 +/- 12.1 y, and 62 (59.6%) patients were male. The median PBEF level was 5.4 ng/ml (range 1.1-150.7 ng/ml). Non-survivors (n = 57) demonstrated significantly higher PBEF levels than survivors (18.7 +/- 34.5 vs 6.9 +/- 6.1 ng/ml; p = 0.022). Most particularly, patients with PBEF levels >= 10.4 ng/ml (n = 27) demonstrated higher hospital mortality than patients with PBEF levels >= 10.4 ng/ml (n = 77) (74.1% vs. 48.1%; p = 0.025). Univariate logistic analysis determined PBEF >= 10.4 ng/ml to be an independent factor associated with hospital survival (hazard ratio = 0.324, 95% confidence interval = 0.123-0.854; p = 0.023). Among patients with sepsis-induced ARDS (n = 59), non-survivors (n = 35) demonstrated significantly higher PBEF levels than survivors (n = 24), but not interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels.

Estrogens also have important impacts on brain and behavior during adulthood, particularly in females during aging, but the impact of BPA on the adult brain is less studied. We have published a series of studies SBC-115076 concentration documenting that chronic exposure to various estrogens including 17 beta-estradiol, ER beta selective SERMs and

soy phytoestrogens impairs performance of middle-aged female rats on an operant working memory task. The purpose of this study was to determine if chronic oral exposure to BPA would alter working memory on this same task. Ovariectomized (OVX) middle-aged Long Evans rats were tested on an operant delayed spatial alternation (DSA) task Rats were treated for 8-10 weeks with either a 0 (vehicle control), 5 or 50 mu g/kg https://www.selleckchem.com/products/gsk2879552-2hcl.html bw/day oral bolus of BPA. A subset of the vehicle control rats was implanted with a Silastic implant containing 17 beta-estradiol (low physiological range) to serve as a positive control. All rats were tested for 25 sessions on the DSA task. BPA treatment did not

influence performance accuracy on the DSA task, whereas 17 beta-estradiol significantly impaired performance, as previously reported. The results of this study suggest that chronic oral exposure to BPA does not alter working memory processes of middle-aged OVX rats assessed by this operant DSA task. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Inc.”
“The claim that the prefrontal cortex, particularly its orbito-frontal part, is involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is based upon evidence from neuroimaging as well as behavioral studies. Studies have repeatedly suggested problems

with delayed alternation learning in OCD. an executive dysfunction that Talazoparib solubility dmso presumably involves the orbito-frontal cortex. However. it is unclear whether such impairment stems from perseveration or strategic deficits as these aspects are intertwined in the original task. In the present study, 36 OCD and 16 healthy controls underwent a variant of the delayed alternation task involving three response options instead of two as in the original task. This modification enabled us to separate perseveration errors (i.e., the participant incorrectly. chooses the same response option as before) from shift errors (i.e., the decision is switched to an incorrect response alternative). We found that patients with OCD committed significantly more perseveration errors following previously valid response options, whereas perseveration for previously invalid responses and shift errors did not distinguish groups. Group differences were not accounted for by comorbid depression and may be linked to the pathogenesis of OCD. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Objective: Despite the excellent outcomes in the current era after the Fontan procedure, it continues to have an inherent risk of failure.

Episodic memories are embedded in a more complex conceptual system in which they can become the basis of autobiographical memories. However, the function of episodic memories is to keep a record of progress with short-term goals and access to most

episodic memories is lost soon after their formation. Finally, it is suggested that developmentally episodic memories form the basis of the conceptual system and it is from sets of episodic memories that early non-verbal conceptual knowledge is abstracted. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“The critical SHP099 cost attributes of episodic memory are self, autonoetic consciousness and subjectively sensed time. The aim of this paper is to present a theoretical overview of our already published researches into the nature of episodic memory over the course of time. We have developed a new method of assessing autobiographical memory (TEMPau task), which is specially designed to measure these specific aspects, based on the sense of re-experiencing events from across the

entire lifespan. Based on our findings selleck chemicals of cognitive, neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies, new insights into episodic autobiographical memories are presented, focusing on the effects of age of the subjects interacting with time interval in healthy subjects and lesioned patients. The multifaceted and complex nature of episodic memory is emphasized and it is suggested that mental time travel through subjective time, which allows individuals to re-experience specific past events through a feeling of self-awareness, is the last feature of autobiographical science memory to become fully operational in development and the first feature to go in aging and most amnesias. Our findings highlight the critical role of frontotemporal areas in constructive autobiographical memory processes, and especially hippocampus, in re-experiencing episodic details from the recent or more distant past. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Because animals and young children

cannot be interrogated about their experiences it is difficult to conduct research into their episodic memories. The approach to this issue adopted by Clayton and Dickinson [Clayton, N. S., & Dickinson, A. (1998). Episodic-like memory during cache recovery by scrub jays. Nature, 395,272-2741 was to take a conceptually minimalist definition of episodic memory, in terms of integrating information about what was done where and when [Tulving, E. (1972). Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving, & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Organisation of memory (pp. 381-403). New York: Academic Press], and to refer to such memories as ‘episodic-like’. Some claim, however, that because animals supposedly lack the conceptual abilities necessary for episodic recall one should properly call these memories ‘semantic’.

1038/leu.2009.194; published online 1 October 2009″
“This study was undertaken to investigate the neuroprotective effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced rats with Parkinson’s disease. rTMS

was given to rats with Parkinson’s disease induced by 6-OHDA, daily for 4 weeks to examine the protective effects. Rotational test showed that rTMS significantly attenuated apomorphine-induced turns in rats with Parkinson’s disease. Tissue processing showed that rTMS alleviated 6-OHDA-induced loss of dopaminergic neurons in rat substantia nigra. Furthermore, rTMS decreased the levels of cyclooxygenase-2 NU7441 order and tumor necrosis factor-a in rat substantia nigra, and prevented the fall of dopamine in the striatum of rats with Parkinson’s disease. NeuroReport 21:268-272 (C) 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health vertical bar Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“The objective of this study for newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) was to evaluate the efficacy of an intensified double induction chemotherapy including high dose ara-C (HD) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) followed by consolidation and 3 years maintenance therapy. In contrast to APL studies stratifying therapy according to pretreatment white blood cell (WBC) count < and >= 10 x 10(9)/l (low/intermediate and high

risk according to the Sanz score), our patients received uniform therapy. From 1994 to 2005, 142 patients (age, 16-60 SHP099 concentration years) were enrolled. In the low/intermediate (n = 105) vs high (n = 37) WBC group, the rates of complete remission were 95.2 vs 83.8%, of induction death were 4.8 vs VE-822 ic50 16.2% (P = 0.05) and of molecular remission were 87.5 vs 91.3% (P = 1). Long-term overall survival was 84.4 vs 73.0% (P = 0.12), event free survival was 78.3 vs 67.3% (P = 0.11), relapse free survival was 82.1 vs 80.0% (P = 0.83) and the cumulative incidence of relapse was 7.4 vs 11.4% (P = 0.46). No relapse or death occurred after 4.7 years. ATRA and intensified chemotherapy including

HD ara-C followed by prolonged maintenance therapy reduced the relapse risk in high risk patients. Pretreatment WBC count >= 10 x 10(9)/l count was no relevant prognostic factor for relapse. Leukemia (2009) 23, 2248-2258; doi:10.1038/leu.2009.183; published online 10 September 2009″
“Despite a well-established relationship between amygdala activation during learning and long-term memory, contributions of amygdala to immediate memory have not been studied to date. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5-T field strength to determine whether amygdala responses to emotional pictures would predict performance on an immediate recognition memory test. Sex differences in amygdala activation were related to false-positive error rates in recognizing unpleasant pictures.

However, the noradrenaline (NA) effects in the BLA have not been differentiated among medium- to large-sized GABAergic neurons and principal cells, and remain to be elucidated in terms of their underlying mechanisms. Glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD67) is a biosynthetic enzyme of GABA and is specifically expressed in GABAergic neurons.

PRN1371 To facilitate the study of the NA effects on GABAergic neurons in live preparations, we generated GAD67-green fluorescent protein (GFP) knock-in mice, in which GFP was expressed under the control of an endogenous GAD67 gene promoter. Here, we show that GFP was specifically expressed in GABAergic neurons in the BLA of this GAD67-GFP knock-in mouse. Under whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in vitro, we identified a certain subpopulation of GABAergic neurons in the BLA chiefly on

the basis of the electrophysiological Selleck BAY 73-4506 properties. When depolarized by a current injection, these neurons, which are referred to as type A, generated action potentials at relatively low frequency. We found that NA directly excited type-A cells via alpha(1)-adrenoceptors, whereas its effects on the other types of neurons were negligible. Two ionic mechanisms were involved in this excitability: the activation of nonselective cationic conductance and the suppression of the resting K(+) conductance. NA also increased the frequency of spontaneous IPSCs in the principal cells of the BLA. It is suggested that the NA-dependent excitation of type-A cells attenuates the BLA output for a certain period. (C) 2008 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Stereotactic surgical interventions for Parkinson’s disease (PD) can considerably improve appendicular motor signs, but their effect on axial motor signs-especially balance control under optimal drug therapy-remains unclear. Here, we investigated the effect of bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) stimulation selleck chemicals on levodopa-resistant axial and appendicular postural impairment in PD.

Fourteen patients (11 with young-onset PD) and 18 age-matched controls

were included. Patients were tested after intake of a suprathreshold levodopa dose, ensuring optimal response to drug therapy, and with stimulators both turned on and off. Balance control was assessed using multidirectional dynamic posturography. Outcome measures included full body kinematics and surface electromyography of paraspinal and deltoid muscles.

Patients with stimulators turned off showed early decreased trunk roll with a loss of directional dependency, followed by increased and abnormally directed-i.e. destabilizing-trunk roll. Pelvis pitch motion showed decreased directional dependency in these patients. The abnormal trunk motion was not corrected by STN stimulation, but directional dependency of both trunk and pelvis motion partially improved, along with a general decrease in muscle activity.