"A characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal biological processes, pathogenic processes, or pharmacologic responses to a therapeutic intervention." 🩸🧠
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Introduction
What is the use of biomarkers? 🧠
Diagnostic tool🪓
Tool for staging the disease 🥼
Indicator of prognosis📡
Predic or monitor of clinical response to an intervention🚨
Remember: "tools"should aid clinicians, not be the source of all truth.
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⚠️⚠️Disclaimer
The following thread will present a few Imaging and other biomarkers that can help aid the diagnosis of DLB.
There are some fluid biomarkers which their role in routine clinical diagnosis is yet to be established. Those will not be mentioned today.
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MRI 🏥
Insular atrophy? Useful in pro-DLB? ( 🔵 arrow)
🦪Relative preservation of medial temporal lobe ( vs AD)
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DAT-Scan
"Reduced DAT binding suggests nigrostriatal degeneration."
Useful in DLB vs AD DDx, not between "degenerative parkinsoninsm-syndromes".
NC: normal cognition.
🦪Check the asymmetry
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SPECT/PET
🦪🏝️Sign
Hypometabolism in the lateral occipital cortex and precuneus with relatively spared metabolism in the posterior cingulate (🟡 arrows) and medial temporal lobe (🔴 arrow)
Biomarkers are only helpful in the proper clinical context. Without suggestive symptoms, the result is difficult to interpret and the usefulness fades away. ⚠️🚨
DLB belongs to a family of disorders typically known as "synucleinopathies" 🔬
Other members are:
- MSA
- PD
- PDD
All of them have abnormal inclusions of α-Synuclein at a pathological level.
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⚠️⚠️⚠️
"Pathology is not pathogenesis", therefore we shouldn't assume that the presence of these pathological changes are a synonym of "protein toxicity".
⚠️Disclaimer:
Due to the complexity of this structure, this tweetorial is composed of three main parts.
1️⃣ Gross anatomy and microscopic anatomy (sort of)
2️⃣ Areas and connections
3️⃣ Clinical Syndromes and curiosities
Hope you enjoy!
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Do you remember last Tweetorial's question?
Exner's area 🧠📝🥸
Described in 1881, the area located close to the superior frontal sulcus in BA6, anterior to the hand primary motor area, has been involved in the handwritten production of words.
📜
"It is likely possible to learn more about neurologic status from watching a patient walk than from any other single procedure, and observation of gait should always be part of a neurologic examination."
🧐🧠🥸
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Gait is a sensory-motor function, which needs the adequate interaction between major systems for:
1⃣ Generating force
2⃣ Orientation in space
3⃣ Refine force
4⃣ Collate and interpret sensory information; select and modify motor programs