Treatment with istradefylline for postural abnormalities in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract

Introduction. In the current edition, Fujioka and colleagues report on four Japanese patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and severe postural abnormalities treated with istradefylline (adenosine A2A receptor antagonist); further, dopamine agonists were withdrawn. Three patients experienced significant improvements of postural abnormalities. clinical reflections. Postural abnormalities in PD include camptocormia, antecollis, lateral trunk flexion, and scoliosis. They may be very pronounced and significantly reduce quality of life. The therapy of postural deformities in PD is currently disappointing. clinical implications. Effective therapeutic strategies for postural deformities in PD are an unmet need. Larger clinical trials investigating novel approaches including istradefylline are warranted.

Genetics of Parkinson’s disease in the Polish population

“…Western European ethnic groups are usually older than subgroups from low-income countries, so the prevalence of PD is higher. Also, diagnostic and therapeutic options are more available in high-income countries [11,12]. Furthermore, genetic background is characteristic for different ethnic groups [10].…”