This is the first study to confirm the usefulness of the BQ as a screening tool for OSA by prioritizing subjects at high risk for OSA in the general population.

Background and PurposeA population-based door-to-door study of cross-sectional methods for assessing the prevalence and factors related to a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) was conducted using the Korean version of the Berlin Questionnaire (K-BQ).MethodsPooled data collected from Community Health Surveys by the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention were analyzed. Of 8,140 respondents from the population, 7,955 were finally included in this study.ResultsOf the 7,955 included subjects, 15.7% of the men and 9.8% of the women were at high risk of OSA. Significant differences were found in the following factors between the subjects with a high risk of OSA: gender, age, marital status, educational level, occupation, and presence of smoking, harmful alcohol use, and chronic diseases. Male sex, harmful alcohol use, and the presence of chronic diseases were identified as factors independently associated with a high risk of OSA.ConclusionsThis is the first study to confirm the usefulness of the K-BQ to study the prevalence of OSA in the Korean general population. The findings demonstrate that harmful alcohol use and chronic diseases are very common characteristics among those with a high risk of OSA.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic progressive disease caused by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, degenerating the nervous system of a patient over time. Freezing of gait (FOG), which is a form of akinesia, is a symptom of PD. Meanwhile, recent studies show that the gait of PD patients experiencing FOG can be significantly improved by providing the regular visual or auditory patterns for the patients. In this paper, we propose a gait-aid system built upon smart glasses. Our system continuously monitors the gait and so on of a PD patient to detect FOG, and upon detection of FOG it projects visual patterns on the glasses as if the patterns were actually on the floor. Conducting experiments involving ten PD patients, we demonstrate that our system achieves the accuracy of 92.86 % in detecting FOG episodes and that it improves the gait speed and stride length of PD patients by 15.3  ∼  37.2% and 18.7   ∼  31.7%, respectively.

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We investigated gait performance utilizing a quantitative gait analysis for 2 groups: (1) idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) patients who had a positive response to the cerebrospinal fluid tap test (CSFTT) and (2) healthy controls. The aims of the study were (1) to analyze the characteristics of gait features, (2) to characterize changes in gait parameters before and after the CSFTT, and (3) to determine whether there was any relationship between stride time and stride length variability and Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) scores in INPH patients. Twenty-three INPH patients and 17 healthy controls were included in this study. Compared with healthy controls, the gait of INPH patients was characterized by lower velocity, shorter stride length, and more broad-based gait. Patients with INPH had a longer stance phase with increased double-limb support. Variability in stride time and stride length was increased in INPH patients. Stride time and stride length variability were correlated with FAB score. After the CSFTT, gait velocity, stride length, and step width significantly improved. There were significant decreases in stride time and stride length variability. These results suggest that the CSFTT for INPH patients might improve the so-called balance-related gait parameter (ie, step width) as well. Stride time and stride length variability also responded to the CSFTT. Association between FAB scores and both stride time and stride length variability suggests involvement of similar circuits producing gait variability and frontal lobe functions in INPH patients.

Recent studies have shown a relatively higher prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD). The hypothesis is that prolonged levodopa exposure causes vitamin B12 deficiency, which leads to peripheral neuropathy. The aim of our study was to find the relationship between vitamin B12 and its precursor methylmalonic acid (MMA) in IPD patients with neuropathic pain. We performed a cross-sectional study by enrolling consecutive 43 patients who were clinically tested positive for F-18 FP-CIT PET and 15 patients were diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy according to the Toronto clinical scoring system (TCSS). The severity of neuropathic pain was evaluated using total neuropathy scale, revised (TNSr), and Korean Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire (KNPQ). The correlations between age, IPD duration, levodopa equivalent dose (LED), UPDRS III, vitamin B12, MMA, and homocysteine levels were assessed. The prevalence rate of peripheral neuropathy in IPD patients was 35%. Among the serums assessed, MMA levels showed a positive correlation to TNSr and KNPQ in the IPD patients with peripheral neuropathy (TNSr r = 0.882, p < 0.001, KNPQ r = 0.710, p = 0.004), while Vitamin B12 and homocysteine showed no statistically significant correlation. Our study showed a prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in 35% of Korean IPD patients. The serum MMA positively correlated with the severity of neuropathic pain and this can be used as a useful marker in assessment of peripheral neuropathy in Parkinson's disease.

Purpose Based on the possibility that early-phase florbetaben (E-FBB) brain PET can be a surrogate for brain perfusion imaging, we conducted this study to investigate the clinical utility of E-FBB PET instead of 18F-FDG brain PET. Materials and Methods This prospective study included 35 patients with clinical suspicion of cognitive decline or dementia and 5 healthy controls. Brain MRI, E-FBB PET, late-phase FBB PET, and FDG PET were acquired. The regional SUV ratios (SUVRs) were calculated by cortical surface region of interest analysis using individual MRI, and relationship between E-FBB and FDG PET was analyzed. All PET scans were scored and analyzed as per visual scoring system, which represent tracer uptake abnormality. Moreover, uptake patterns were analyzed to determine the disease. Results Among the 40 subjects, 19 were amyloid-positive and 21 were amyloid-negative on late-phase FBB PET. Cortical surface region of interest analysis conducted for comparing between E-FBB and FDG PET revealed significant correlations (P < 0.0001) for regional SUVR among all brain regions; however, the SUVR values of FDG PET were statistically higher than those of E-FBB PET. Similarly, although the visually rated scores for E-FBB and FDG PET showed significant correlation (P < 0.0001), it was considered that the tracer uptake was more severely decreased for FDG PET. The disease types, specified by E-FBB and FDG PET, were statistically correlated. Conclusions E-FBB PET could potentially be a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of dementia in place of FDG PET. Nevertheless, the severity of the disease was more accurately determined by FDG PET.

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