Cognitive characteristics in Chinese non-demented PD patients based on gender difference

Background:Cognitive impairment is one of the non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease(PD).In the present study,we aim to examine the cognitive function of non-demented Parkinson’s disease patients and compare the results between male and female patients as well as control groups in search of any gender effect.Methods:Sixty PD Patients(30 males and 30 females)from the Movement Disorders Clinic at Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University were recruited to participate in the study.One hundred age and gender matched control subjects without neurological or psychiatric disorders were voluntarily recruited.The participants were administered measures of cognition in five domains including memory,language,spatial processing abilities,attention and executive function.Results:PD patients attained significantly lower scores in the visual spatial function,language and attention/executive function compared with the control group.Anti-parkinsonian treated patients performed worse in Rey-copy score,Clock Drawing Test(CDT)and Verbal Fluency-City than untreated ones.In regard to gender differences,though no general cognitive differences were found in Mini-mental State Examination(MMSE),men surpassed women on Boston naming test(BNT)while women were superior on Auditory Verbal Learning Test-long(AVLT)delayed cued recall test.Conclusions:Cognitive impairments were common in PD patients even in the absence of dementia.PD patients with anti-parkinsonian medication had worse cognitive impairment than untreated patients.Genders may have different manifestations of cognitive impairment in PD patients.

Could upfront temozolomide chemotherapy postpone the need for radiotherapy in young patients with high-risk low-grade gliomas?

Gliomas are progressive and infiltrating primary brain tumors.National Comprehensive Cancer Network points out that for low-grade gliomas(LGGs)patients in a highrisk group(<40 years old and subtotal resection),standard strategies are maximum safe resection with radiotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy;however,the guidelines do not address the question whether patients need adjuvant therapy immediately after diagnosis because of RTOG 9802.[1]Temozolomide(TMZ)is one of the first-line regimens used in LGGs chemotherapy,and results of EORTC 22033-26033 have shown that compared to TMZ chemotherapy,radiotherapy did not prolong progression-free survival(PFS)in LGGs patients significantly,and overall survival(OS)outcomes remain unknown.[2]A 12-year follow-up for patients<40 years showed that radiotherapy could cause significant treatment-related side effects such as cognitive dysfunction.