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Journal ArticleDOI

Parkinson’s disease with camptocormia

TL;DR: Patients with camptocormia were characterised by prominent levodopa-unresponsive axial symptoms (ie, axial rigidity, gait disorder and postural instability), along with a tendency for greater error in the antisaccade paradigm, and it is suggested that the salient features of parkinsonism observed in patients with camps are likely to represent a specific form of Parkinson’s disease.
Abstract: Background: Camptocormia is defined as an abnormal flexion of the trunk that appears when standing or walking and disappears in the supine position. The origin of the disorder is unknown, but it is usually attributed either to a primary or a secondary paravertebral muscle myopathy or a motor neurone disorder. Camptocormia is also observed in a minority of patients with parkinsonism. Objective: To characterise the clinical and electrophysiological features of camptocormia and parkinsonian symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease and camptocormia compared with patients with Parkinson’s disease without camptocormia. Methods: Patients with parkinsonism and camptocormia (excluding patients with multiple system atrophy) prospectively underwent a multidisciplinary clinical (neurological, neuropsychological, psychological, rheumatological) and neurophysiological (electromyogram, ocular movement recording) examination and were compared with age-matched patients with Parkinson’s disease without camptocormia. Results: The camptocormia developed after 8.5 (SD 5.3) years of parkinsonism, responded poorly to levodopa treatment (20%) and displayed features consistent with axial dystonia. Patients with camptocormia were characterised by prominent levodopa-unresponsive axial symptoms (ie, axial rigidity, gait disorder and postural instability), along with a tendency for greater error in the antisaccade paradigm. Conclusion: We suggest that (1) the salient features of parkinsonism observed in patients with camptocormia are likely to represent a specific form of Parkinson’s disease and camptocormia is an axial dystonia and (2) both camptocormia and parkinsonism in these patients might result from additional, non-dopaminergic neuronal dysfunction in the basal ganglia.

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TL;DR: A thorough understanding of the broad spectrum of clinical manifestations of PD is essential to the proper diagnosis of the disease and genetic mutations or variants, neuroimaging abnormalities and other tests are potential biomarkers that may improve diagnosis and allow the identification of persons at risk.
Abstract: Objective: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurological disorder characterised by a large number of motor and non-motor features that can impact on function to a variable degree. This review describes the clinical characteristics of PD with emphasis on those features that differentiate the disease from other parkinsonian disorders. Methods: A MedLine search was performed to identify studies that assess the clinical characteristics of PD. Search terms included “Parkinson’s disease”, “diagnosis” and “signs and symptoms”. Results: Because there is no definitive test for the diagnosis of PD, the disease must be diagnosed based on clinical criteria. Rest tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity and loss of postural reflexes are generally considered the cardinal signs of PD. The presence and specific presentation of these features are used to differentiate PD from related parkinsonian disorders. Other clinical features include secondary motor symptoms (eg, hypomimia, dysarthria, dysphagia, sialorrhoea, micrographia, shuffling gait, festination, freezing, dystonia, glabellar reflexes), non-motor symptoms (eg, autonomic dysfunction, cognitive/neurobehavioral abnormalities, sleep disorders and sensory abnormalities such as anosmia, paresthesias and pain). Absence of rest tremor, early occurrence of gait difficulty, postural instability, dementia, hallucinations, and the presence of dysautonomia, ophthalmoparesis, ataxia and other atypical features, coupled with poor or no response to levodopa, suggest diagnoses other than PD. Conclusions: A thorough understanding of the broad spectrum of clinical manifestations of PD is essential to the proper diagnosis of the disease. Genetic mutations or variants, neuroimaging abnormalities and other tests are potential biomarkers that may improve diagnosis and allow the identification of persons at risk.

4,349 citations


Cites background from "Parkinson’s disease with camptocorm..."

  • ...In addition to PD, other causes of camptocormia include dystonia and extensor truncal myopathy.(49) 50 Another truncal...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying postural deformities in PD might ultimately lead to more effective management strategies for these disabling and drug-refractory complications.
Abstract: Postural deformities are frequent and disabling complications of Parkinson's disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonism. These deformities include camptocormia, antecollis, Pisa syndrome, and scoliosis. Recognition of specific postural syndromes might have differential diagnostic value in patients presenting with parkinsonism. The evidence to date suggests that postural deformities have a multifactorial pathophysiology. Contributing factors include muscular rigidity; axial dystonia; weakness caused by myopathy; body scheme defects due to centrally impaired proprioception; and structural changes in the spine. The relative contribution of these different factors varies between patients and across specific syndromes. Improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying postural deformities in PD might ultimately lead us to more effective management strategies for these disabling and drug-refractory complications.

402 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This MDS‐commissioned task force assessed clinimetric properties of existing rating scales, questionnaires, and timed tests that assess features in Parkinson's disease.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Disorders of posture, gait, and balance in Parkinson's disease (PD) are common and debilitating. This MDS-commissioned task force assessed clinimetric properties of existing rating scales, questionnaires, and timed tests that assess these features in PD. METHODS: A literature review was conducted. Identified instruments were evaluated systematically and classified as "recommended," "suggested," or "listed." Inclusion of rating scales was restricted to those that could be used readily in clinical research and practice. RESULTS: One rating scale was classified as "recommended" (UPDRS-derived Postural Instability and Gait Difficulty score) and 2 as "suggested" (Tinetti Balance Scale, Rating Scale for Gait Evaluation). Three scales requiring equipment (Berg Balance Scale, Mini-BESTest, Dynamic Gait Index) also fulfilled criteria for "recommended" and 2 for "suggested" (FOG score, Gait and Balance Scale). Four questionnaires were "recommended" (Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale, Falls Efficacy Scale, Survey of Activities, and Fear of Falling in the Elderly-Modified). Four tests were classified as "recommended" (6-minute and 10-m walk tests, Timed Up-and-Go, Functional Reach). CONCLUSION: We identified several questionnaires that adequately assess freezing of gait and balance confidence in PD and a number of useful clinical tests. However, most clinical rating scales for gait, balance, and posture perform suboptimally or have been evaluated insufficiently. No instrument comprehensively and separately evaluates all relevant PD-specific gait characteristics with good clinimetric properties, and none provides separate balance and gait scores with adequate content validity for PD. We therefore recommend the development of such a PD-specific, easily administered, comprehensive gait and balance scale that separately assesses all relevant constructs. (c) 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

194 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper showed that physical therapy, especially highly challenging balance exercises, can improve postural stability and reduce the risk of falls, although the long-term effects of physical therapy interventions on postural instability need to be explored given the progressive nature of PD.
Abstract: Postural instability is one of the cardinal signs in Parkinson's disease (PD). It can be present even at diagnosis, but becomes more prevalent and worsens with disease progression. It represents one of the most disabling symptoms in the advanced stages of the disease, as it is associated with increased falls and loss of independence. Clinical and posturographic studies have contributed to significant advances in unravelling the complex pathophysiology of postural instability in patients with PD, but it still remains yet to be fully clarified, partly due to the difficulty in distinguishing between the disease process and the compensatory mechanisms, but also due to the fact that non-standardized techniques are used to measure balance and postural instability. There is increasing evidence that physical therapy, especially highly challenging balance exercises, can improve postural stability and reduce the risk of falls, although the long-term effects of physical therapy interventions on postural stability need to be explored given the progressive nature of PD. Pharmacotherapy with dopaminergic medications can provide significant improvements in postural instability in early- to mid-stage PD but the effects tend to wane with time consistent with spread of the disease process to non-dopaminergic pathways in advanced PD. Donepezil has been associated with a reduced risk of falls and methylphenidate has shown potential benefit against freezing of gait, but the results are yet to be replicated in large randomized studies. Surgical treatments, including lesioning and deep brain stimulation surgery targeting the subthalamic nucleus and the globus pallidus internus, tend to only provide modest benefit for postural instability. New surgical targets such as the pedunculopontine nucleus have emerged as a potential specific therapy for postural instability and gait disorder but remain experimental.

189 citations


Cites background from "Parkinson’s disease with camptocorm..."

  • ...Separately, another important but less common source of postural instability is camptocormia or Pisa syndrome in which there is abnormal forward and lateral flexion of the trunk, respectively [10, 84]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Overall, postural impairment is poorly improved by levodopa, which implies that it is unlikely due to the nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation, and the pedonculopontine nucleus seems promising as a new target for DBS in combination with the subthalamic nucleus.
Abstract: Posture is often affected in Parkinson's disease. Postural abnormalities belong to the motor axial involvement. Generally, postural dysfunction induces clinical impairment at the latest stages of the disease, except in late-onset idiopathic Parkinson's disease and in atypical parkinsonian syndromes. Posture may be affected in its orientation component (stooped posture, camptocormia, Pisa syndrome) or in its balance component (loss of postural reflexes). Overall, postural impairment is poorly improved by levodopa, which implies that it is unlikely due to the nigrostriatal dopaminergic denervation. Several methods of investigation have been proposed but are generally not available in clinical practice. Medical treatment and deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus or globus pallidus pars interna are less efficient on axial than on distal motor signs. The pedonculopontine nucleus seems promising as a new target for DBS in combination with the subthalamic nucleus. Physical therapy is, in most cases, the best way to improve postural dysfunction.

151 citations


Cites background from "Parkinson’s disease with camptocorm..."

  • ...[8] Bloch F, Houeto JL, Tezenas du Montcel S, Bonneville F, Etchepare F, Welter ML, et al....

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  • ...The time intervals between the onset of PD nd the clinical onset of camptocormia ranged from four to 4 years [8,17,32] Another truncal deformity is the Pisa syndrome (Fig....

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References
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Journal Article
TL;DR: D'autres manifestations systemiques sont possibles : atteinte pulmonaire (essentiellement the pneumopathie interstitielle et le syndrome restrictif par hypoventilation), arthralgies ou arthrite, manifestations cardiaques, vascularite ou calcinose particulierement chez l'enfant et l'adolescent attein de dermatomyosite.
Abstract: Dermatomyositis and polymyositis are the two major idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. The Bohan and Peter's criteria are still useful despite the probably different pathogenesis of the two myopathies. Cutaneous manifestations of dermatomyositis include heliotrope rash and Gottron's papules. The heliotrope rash, with or without edema, in a distribution involving periorbital skin is very suggestive of the diagnosis. Papules may be found overlying the "kneedle" of the hand or the elbows, knees, feet. Periungueal erythema with telangiectasis were characteristic but not pathognomonic. Scalp involvement is common. Skin lesions of dermatomyositis may precede the development of the myopathy and may persist after the control of the myositis. Some patients have an amyopathic dermatomyositis with normal muscle-enzyme, magnetic resonance scan and muscle biopsy. Muscle disease affects the proximal muscles, is generally symmetrical and symptoms are fatigue, weakness and sometimes myalgia. Proximal dysphagia reflects an involvement of striated muscle of the pharynx or proximal esophagus. Camptocormia reflects a severe involvement of paravertebral muscle. Other systemic features may be seen: pulmonary involvement (mostly interstitial pneumonitis and hypoventilation), arthralgias or arthritis, cardiac involvement, vasculatis and calcinosis particularly in children or adolescents with dermatomyositis. Malignant disease is associated with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies with a frequency of approximatively 10 to 15% in dermatomyositis and 5 to 10% in polymyositis and is strongly correlated with age, more than 50% of the patient over 65 years old were found to have a cancer. In the absence of malignant disease, the mainstay therapy for dermatomyositis and polymyositis is systemic corticosteroids (mostly 1mg/kg). In the lake of response or high dose dependance, intravenous immunoglobulins or immunosuppressive drugs like methotrexate or azathioprine may be discuss. Cyclophosphamide show some effectiveness in interstitial pneumonitis. Cyclosporin might be effective in children, less in adults. The efficacy of tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, leflunomide and anti-TNF therapy need some prospective studies to determine if there are of value in idiopathic inflammatory myositis.

16 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Four patients with various degrees of chronic, tonic, mildly painful, or non-painful, kyphoscolioses in orthostatism, which developed weeks, or months, after one or several laminectomies for lumbar disk hernia, are reported.

13 citations