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BACKGROUND: Because of the prevalence and impact of sleep disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD), valid instruments for their evaluation and monitoring are necessary. However, some nocturnal sleep disorders may go unnoticed by patients themselves. OBJECTIVES: To validate a pan-Spanish version of the Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale Version 2 (PDSS-2) and to test the relationships between the PDSS-2 and a PDSS-2 roommate version. METHODS: PD patients (n = 399) from seven Spanish-speaking countries were included. In addition to the tested PDSS-2 scales, valid measures for sleep disorders and both motor and nonmotor manifestations were applied. Acceptability, dimensionality, reliability, precision, and construct validity were explored, as well as discrepancies and agreement between the PDSS-2 and the roommate version. RESULTS: PDSS-2 showed negligible floor and ceiling effects. Four factors (57% of the variance) were identified. Reliability parameters were satisfactory: alpha = 0.84; item homogeneity coefficient = 0.27; corrected item total correlation = 0.28 to 0.61; and test-retest reliability (average kappa = 0.70; intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.83). The standard error of measurement was 5.84, and correlations with other scales assessing nocturnal sleep were high (rS = 0.62-0.56). In comparison to the patient-based total score, the by proxy total score showed no significant difference, high correlation (rS = 0.70), and acceptable agreement (ICC = 0.69), but there were discrepancies in two or more points in 18% of item scores. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish version of the PDSS-2 has shown satisfactory clinimetric attributes. Acceptability and precision data are presented for the first time. The PDSS-2 roommate version could be useful to complement the patient-based evaluation, but additional studies are needed.

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Introduction: Treatment strategies in Parkinson's disease (PD) can improve a patient's quality of life but cannot stop the progression of PD. We are looking for different alternatives that modify the natural course of the disease and recent research has demonstrated the neuroprotective properties of erythropoietin. In Cuba, the Center for Molecular Immunology (CIM) is a cutting edge scientific center where the recombinant form (EPOrh) and recombinant human erythropoietin with low sialic acid (NeuroEPO) are produced. We performed two clinical trials to evaluate the safety and tolerability of these two drugs in PD patients. In this paper we want to show the positive results of the additional cognitive tests employed, as part of the comprehensive assessment. Materials and method: Two studies were conducted in PD patients from the outpatient clinic of CIREN, including n = 10 and n = 26 patients between 60 and 66 years of age, in stages 1 to 2 of the Hoehn and Yahr Scale. The first study employed recombinant human (rhEPO) and the second an intranasal formulation of neuroEPO. All patients were evaluated with a battery of neuropsychological scales composed to evaluate global cognitive functioning, executive function, and memory. Results: The general results in both studies showed a positive response to the cognitive functions in PD patients, who were undergoing pharmacological treatment with respect to the evaluation (p < 0.05) before the intervention. Conclusions: Erythropoietin has a discrete positive effect on the cognitive functions of patients with Parkinson's disease, which could be interpreted as an effect of the neuroprotective properties of this molecules. To confirm the results another clinical trial phase III with neuroEPO is in progress, also designed to discard any influence of a placebo effect on cognition.

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BACKGROUND: Focal thalamic lesions have been associated with a variety of involuntary movements such as tremor, dystonia, and chorea-ballism. METHODS: We describe a patient with severe hyperkinesias of the right arm secondary to a thalamic infarction in the left postero-ventral region of the thalamus. RESULTS: The dystonia and tremor of the right upper limb were subsequently controlled with another surgical lesion of the ventralis intermedius nucleus of the thalamus. CONCLUSION: This observation suggests that ablative surgery might be applied to treat a movement disorder induced by the lesion of the same nucleus, which in addition lead to interesting pathophysiological conjectures.

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INTRODUCTION: Recombinant human erythropoietin is used primarily to treat anemia. There is evidence of its neuroprotective capacity from preclinical studies in Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. Recombinant human erythropoietin produced in Cuba (ior-EPOCIM) is registered and approved for use in humans in Cuba and in a number of other countries. OBJECTIVE: Assess safety and possible neuroprotective effect of ior-EPOCIM in a group of Parkinson's disease patients. METHODS: A three-phase exploratory study (proof of concept) was conducted from August 2008 to April 2009: preliminary assessment, treatment (weeks 1-5), and post-treatment (weeks 6-35). Participants were 10 Parkinson's disease patients (8 men, 2 women) from the outpatient clinic at the International Neurological Restoration Center, all at least one year post onset, aged 47-65 years. The ior-EPOCIM was administered subcutaneously in a once-weekly dose (60 IU/kg body weight) for five weeks. Therapy with patients' antiparkinsonian drugs was maintained throughout the study, except during motor examination, conducted following a 12-hour withdrawal (OFF condition). Safety was evaluated primarily by recording adverse events (by intensity and causality) from start of treatment until the study's completion. Hematological parameters and blood pressure were also measured because of their direct relationship to the medication's action. To evaluate possible neuroprotective activity, variables were included related to patients' motor function and cognitive and affective status, measured using internationally recognized scales. All variables were evaluated before, during and after treatment. Data were processed using a fixed-effects linear model, with a repeated-measures design (significance level p ≤ 0.05). RESULTS: Three patients experienced mild adverse events (precordial discomfort and hypertension in one; leg fatigue in another; renal colic in a third), with a possible causal relationship in the first two that was neither life threatening nor required hospitalization. Hemoglobin was the only hematological parameter that showed a growing and significant increase (p < 0.001), but without reaching pathological levels. The other variables presented clinically positive and statistically significant changes compared to pretreatment assessment: motor function (p < 0.001), cognitive status (p < 0.001) and mood (p = 0.013). CONCLUSIONS At the dosage used, ior-EPOCIM was safe and well tolerated in these Parkinson's disease patients. Further studies are needed to corroborate these results and evaluate the medication's possible neuroprotective effect. KEYWORDS Parkinson disease, erythropoietin, recombinant proteins, neuroprotective agents, clinical trial, safety, ior-EPOCIM, Cuba.

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La psicosis epiléptica es un tema debatido desde hace más de medio siglo. La clasificación de Ponds publicada en 1957 aún tiene vigencia con algunas modificaciones, a nuestro juicio, porque relaciona los numerosos síntomas de una entidad tan estudiada como controvertida, de manera que quedan implicados y en la práctica se observa, más que una co-morbilidad psiquiátrica, un cuadro que requiere de cuidadosos estudios clínicos. Dicha clasificación agrupa las manifestaciones psiquiátricas en trastornos ictales, trastornos interictales, y trastornos postictales. Los trastornos ictales están tan relacionados con la semiología de la epilepsia pues son las manifestaciones de toma de conciencia que se producen en el ictus. Los trastornos interictales se ajustan al período intercrisis donde una serie de entidades psiquiátricas concomitantes con la epilepsia se presentan, y la controvertida personalidad epiléptica se enuncia. Los trastornos posictales son considerados de uno a dos días del ictus. En la práctica, la clásica pregunta de si es orgánico o funcional un cuadro sintomático, está tan interiorizado en el quehacer médico que aunque hayamos conceptualizado un diagnóstico, los criterios dualistas y de sindromología nos lleva frecuentemente a la duda. La presentación del caso de una joven de 19 años que asiste para que sea precisado su diagnóstico con un cortejo de síntomas y signos psiquiátricos, su evolución durante un año y tratamiento así como consideraciones etiológicas son los objetivos de este trabajo(AU)

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