The 'extreme male brain' theory suggests females with Autism Spectrum Conditions are hyper-masculinized in certain aspects of behavior. We predicted that females with Gender Identity Disorder (who are masculinized) would have elevated Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) scores. AQ scores from five groups were compared: (1) n = 61 transmen (female-to-male transsexual people); (2) n = 198 transwomen (male-to-female transsexual people); (3) n = 76 typical males; (4) n = 98 typical females; and (5) n = 125 individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Transmen had a higher mean AQ than typical females, typical males and transwomen, but lower than individuals with AS. Transmen have more autistic traits and may have had difficulty socializing with female peers and thus found it easier to identify with male peer groups.

The early and accurate diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD) is the first step towards optimal patient management. The aim of this study was to investigate the major determinants of delayed diagnosis in PD. We recruited a population-representative cohort of 239 newly-diagnosed PD patients who underwent clinical and neuropsychological evaluation. Non-parametric methods were used to define the factors associated with diagnostic delay. The median time from motor symptom onset to primary care physician (PCP) presentation was considerably longer than the time from PCP presentation to PD diagnosis (11 vs. 1 months). Male sex and presenting motor phenotype were independently associated with delayed PCP presentation on Cox regression analysis. Patients presenting with gait disturbance experienced the longest delay, whilst those presenting with tremor had the shortest. In summary, male sex and presenting motor phenotype are key determinants of delayed diagnosis in PD.

Introduction Immune markers are altered in Parkinson's disease (PD), but relationships between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma cytokines and associations with neurodegeneration‐associated proteins remain unclear. Methods CSF and plasma samples and demographic/clinical measures were obtained from 35 PD patients. CSF samples were analyzed for cytokines (together with plasma) and for α‐synuclein, amyloid β(1‐42) peptide, total tau, and phospho(Thr231)‐tau. Results There were no CSF–plasma cytokine correlations. Interleukin (IL)‐8 was higher and interferon‐γ, IL‐10, and tumor necrosis factor–α were lower in CSF versus plasma. In CSF, total tau correlated positively with IL‐8 and IL‐1β, whereas α‐synuclein correlated positively with amyloid β(1‐42) and negatively with semantic fluency (a known marker of PD dementia risk). Discussion CSF and peripheral cytokine profiles in PD are not closely related. Associations between CSF IL‐8 and IL‐1β and tau suggest that CSF inflammatory changes may relate to tau pathology within PD. CSF α‐synuclein/amyloid β may reflect the risk of developing PD dementia. © 2020 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Disordered cholesterol metabolism is linked to neurodegeneration. In this study we investigated the profile of cholesterol metabolites found in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients. When adjustments were made for confounding variables of age and sex, 7α,(25R)26-dihydroxycholesterol and a second oxysterol 7α,x,y-trihydroxycholest-4-en-3-one (7α,x,y-triHCO), whose exact structure is unknown, were found to be significantly elevated in PD CSF. The likely location of the additional hydroxy groups on the second oxysterol are on the sterol side-chain. We found that CSF 7α-hydroxycholesterol levels correlated positively with depression in PD patients, while two presumptively identified cholestenoic acids correlated negatively with depression.