The Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) has been available in English since 2008. As part of this process, the MDS-UPDRS organizing team developed guidelines for development of official non-English translations. We present here the formal process for completing officially approved non-English versions of the MDS-UPDRS and specifically focus on the first of these versions in Italian. The MDS-UPDRS was translated into Italian and tested in 377 nativeItalian speaking PD patients. Confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses determined whether the factor structure for the English-language MDS-UPDRS could be confirmed in data collected using the Italian translation. To be designated an 'Official MDS translation,' the Comparative Fit Index (CFI) had to be ≥0.90 relative to the English-language version. For all four parts of the Italian MDS-UPDRS, the CFI, in comparison with the English-language data, was ≥0.94. Exploratory factor analyses revealed some differences between the two datasets, however these differences were considered to be within an acceptable range. The Italian version of the MDS-UPDRS reaches the criterion to be designated as an Official Translation and is now available for use. This protocol will serve as outline for further validation of this in multiple languages.2

Background: Neuroinvasive properties of SARS-CoV-2 have allowed the hypothesis of several pathogenic mechanisms related to acute and chronic neurological sequelae. However, neuropathological correlates have been poorly systematically investigated, being retrieved from reports of single case or limited case series still. Methods: A PubMed search was carried out to review all publications on autopsy in subjects with “COronaVIrus Disease-19” (COVID-19). Among them, we focused on histological findings of the brain, which were compared with those from the authors’ autoptic studies performed in some COVID-19 patients. Results: Only seven studies reported histological evidence of brain pathology in patients deceased for COVID-19, including three with reverse transcription–quantitative polymerase chain reaction evidence of viral infection. All these studies, in line with our experience, showed vascular-related and infection-related secondary inflammatory tissue damage due to an abnormal immune response. It is still unclear, however, whether these findings are the effect of a direct viral pathology or rather reflect a non-specific consequence of cardiovascular and pulmonary disease on the brain. Conclusions: Notwithstanding the limited evidence available and the heterogeneity of the studies, we provide a preliminary description of the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and brain sequelae. Systematic autoptic investigations are needed for accurate detection and adequate management of these patients.

BackgroundSomatosensory temporal discrimination threshold is often prolonged in patients with dystonia. Previous evidence suggested that this might be caused by impaired somatosensory processing in the time domain. Here, we tested if other markers of reduced inhibition in the somatosensory system might also contribute to abnormal somatosensory temporal discrimination in dystonia.MethodsSomatosensory temporal discrimination threshold was measured in 19 patients with isolated cervical dystonia and 19 age‐matched healthy controls. We evaluated temporal somatosensory inhibition using paired‐pulse somatosensory evoked potentials, spatial somatosensory inhibition by measuring the somatosensory evoked potentials interaction between simultaneous stimulation of the digital nerves in thumb and index finger, and Gamma‐aminobutyric acid‐ergic (GABAergic) sensory inhibition using the early and late components of high‐frequency oscillations in digital nerves somatosensory evoked potentials.ResultsWhen compared with healthy controls, dystonic patients had longer somatosensory temporal discrimination thresholds, reduced suppression of cortical and subcortical paired‐pulse somatosensory evoked potentials, less spatial inhibition of simultaneous somatosensory evoked potentials, and a smaller area of the early component of the high‐frequency oscillations. A logistic regression analysis found that paired pulse suppression of the N20 component at an interstimulus interval of 5 milliseconds and the late component of the high‐frequency oscillations were independently related to somatosensory temporal discrimination thresholds. “Dystonia group” was also a predictor of enhanced somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold, indicating a dystonia‐specific effect that independently influences this threshold.ConclusionsIncreased somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold in dystonia is related to reduced activity of inhibitory circuits within the primary somatosensory cortex. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

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The present data show that cerebellar impairment segregates with the presence of tremor in patients with dystonia, suggesting that the cerebellum might have a role in the occurrence of dystonic tremor.