Parkinsonism is associated with altered primary motor cortex plasticity in frontotemporal dementia–primary progressive aphasia variant

F, Di Stasio; L, Marsili; F, Asci; A, Conte; A, Trebbastoni; C, De Lena; A, Berardelli; A, Suppa; A, Fabbrini

Abstract:

In frontotemporal dementia (FTD), the behavioral variant (bv-FTD) and nonfluent variant of primary progressive aphasia (nfv-PPA) reflect a prominent neurodegenerative involvement of the frontal lobe networks, which may include the premotor and motor areas and thus cause heterogeneous clinical symptoms including parkinsonism. With the technique of transcranial magnetic stimulation, we investigated long-term potentiation– and long-term depression–like plasticity in the primary motor cortex of bv-FTD and nfv-PPA patients, with and without parkinsonism, by using the theta-burst stimulation (TBS) protocol. We applied the intermittent TBS and continuous TBS in 20 FTD patients and 18 age-matched healthy subjects. Results were also compared with those achieved in a cohort of age-matched patients with Parkinson's disease. The responses to TBS were abnormal in FTD patients with parkinsonism. By contrast, the TBS induced normal responses in patients with both nfv-PPA and bv-FTD without parkinsonism. Finally, responses to TBS were comparable in patients with FTD with parkinsonism and patients with Parkinson's disease. We provide evidence of abnormal primary motor cortex long-term potentiation–/long-term depression–like plasticity in patients with FTD and parkinsonism suggesting neurodegenerative processes in the corticobasal ganglia-thalamo-cortical motor networks in these patients.

Patologie/Applicazioni:

• Stimolazione Magnetica Transcranica (TMS)
• Parkinson
• Afasia
• Theta Burst
• Demenza
• Plasticità cerebrale

Anno:

2018

Tipo di pubblicazione:

Articolo

Parola chiave:

stimolazione magnetica transcranica; theta burst; demenza; afasia; corteccia frontotemporale; plasticità; Parkinson

Testata scientifica:

Neurobiology of Aging

Nota:

Applicazione del trattamento TBS intermittente e TBS continuo in 20 pazienti FTD (con demenza frontotemporale) e 18 soggetti sani di pari età. Evidenza di potenziamento anormale della corteccia motoria primaria a lungo termine.

DOI:

10.1016