Evangelos Anagnostou1, Efstratios Karavasilis2, Irini Potiri3, Vasileios Constantinides3, Efstathios Efstathopoulos2, Elisavet Kapaki3, Constantinos Potagas3. 1. Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. eanagnost@eginitio.uoa.gr. 2. 2nd Department of Radiology, University General Hospital 'Attikon,' School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece. 3. Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Square-wave jerks (SWJs) are the most common saccadic intrusion in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), but their genesis is uncertain. We aimed to determine the characteristics of SWJs in PSP (the Richardson subtype) and Parkinson's disease (PD) and to map the brain structures responsible for abnormal SWJ parameters in PSP. METHODS: Eye movements in 12 patients with PSP, 12 patients with PD, and 12 age-matched healthy controls were recorded using an infrared corneal reflection device. The rate, mean amplitude, and velocity of SWJs were analyzed offline. Voxel-based morphometry using a 3-Tesla MRI scanner was performed to relate changes in brain volume to SWJ parameters. RESULTS: The SWJ rate was more than threefold higher in PSP patients than in both PD patients and controls (mean rates: 33.5, 10.3, and 4.3 SWJs per minute, respectively). The volumes of neither the midbrain nor other infratentorial brain regions were correlated with the SWJ rate. Instead, highly significant associations were found for atrophy in the superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri in the PSP group. CONCLUSIONS: SWJs in PSP are not mediated by midbrain atrophy. Instead, supratentorial cortical structures located mainly in the temporal lobe appear to be deeply involved in the generation of abnormally high SWJ rates in these patients. Known anatomical connections of the temporal lobe to the superior colliculus and the cerebellum might play a role in SWJ genesis.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Square-wave jerks (SWJs) are the most common saccadic intrusion in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), but their genesis is uncertain. We aimed to determine the characteristics of SWJs in PSP (the Richardson subtype) and Parkinson's disease (PD) and to map the brain structures responsible for abnormal SWJ parameters in PSP. METHODS: Eye movements in 12 patients with PSP, 12 patients with PD, and 12 age-matched healthy controls were recorded using an infrared corneal reflection device. The rate, mean amplitude, and velocity of SWJs were analyzed offline. Voxel-based morphometry using a 3-Tesla MRI scanner was performed to relate changes in brain volume to SWJ parameters. RESULTS: The SWJ rate was more than threefold higher in PSPpatients than in both PDpatients and controls (mean rates: 33.5, 10.3, and 4.3 SWJs per minute, respectively). The volumes of neither the midbrain nor other infratentorial brain regions were correlated with the SWJ rate. Instead, highly significant associations were found for atrophy in the superior, middle, and inferior temporal gyri in the PSP group. CONCLUSIONS: SWJs in PSP are not mediated by midbrain atrophy. Instead, supratentorial cortical structures located mainly in the temporal lobe appear to be deeply involved in the generation of abnormally high SWJ rates in these patients. Known anatomical connections of the temporal lobe to the superior colliculus and the cerebellum might play a role in SWJ genesis.
Authors: Stefan Macher; Ivan Milenkovic; Tobias Zrzavy; Romana Höftberger; Stefan Seidel; Evelyn Berger-Sieczkowski; Thomas Berger; Paulus S Rommer; Gerald Wiest Journal: Front Immunol Date: 2021-09-30 Impact factor: 7.561