Pain occurring in Parkinson's disease (PD) may affect a large proportion of patients. Based on the results of the methodologically more robust case-control studies that detected a significantly greater frequency of pain in PD patients than in control subjects, pain should now be considered as a non-motor symptom of PD. The heterogeneous quality of pain, the variable relationship of pain with parkinsonian motor signs, and the mixed response of pain to dopaminergic drugs suggest complex mechanisms for pain in PD. Some evidence raises the possibility of common mechanisms shared by pain patients, regardless of the clinical heterogeneity of pain and its variable relationship with motor signs.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of silybin-phospholipids and vitamin E complex (SPV complex), by determining cytokine patterns and various markers of liver disease. Forty Caucasian patients with chronic HCV infection were recruited and divided into two groups: 30 were treated with SPV complex for 3 months, while the other 10 did not receive any treatment. Ten other subjects without HCV infection but with staeatosic diagnosis were recruited and treated with SPV complex. Biochemical and hepatic principal parameters were investigated at 0 (T0) and 3 months (T3). The group of HCV patients treated showed an improvement trend of hepatic indecises and viral load, and had a significant and persistent reduction of ALT (P = 0.02) and AST serum level (P = 0.01). In this group cytokines showed a statistically significant increase of IL-2 (P = 0.03) and IL-6 were significantly reduced (P = 0.02) at T0 and T3. After the treatment the group of hepatic steatosics showed a significant decrease in ALT (P = 0.02), AST (0.008), gammaGT (0.004) alkaline phosphatase (0.05), total cholesterol (P = 0.03), fasting glucose (P = 0.008), insulinemia (0.0006), HOMA value (0.002) and C-reactive protein (CRP; 0.04). There was a significant reduction of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 (P = 0.02, 0.05 and 0.04, respectively). The data suggest that the SPV complex exerts hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic effects. This new compound may therefore be useful in clinical practice in patients with chronic hepatitis C who cannot undergo conventional antiviral therapy.

In this cross-sectional study, we evaluate potential predictors of Metabolic Syndrome (MS) in a group of 54 Caucasian chronically HI V-infected patients with lipodystrophy. According to ATP-III criteria, 22 patients were affected by MS and 32 were not. The mean age of the sample was 41.2 ± 8.6 years, and most patients were males (74.1%); the two groups were homogeneous for gender, age, viroimmunologic status and the duration of antiviral therapy. The independent association between MS and several factors including demographic characteristics, type of highly-active antiviral therapy (HAART), viro-immunologic response, common cardiovascular risk factors (including Framingham scores), and selected cytokines (IFN-y, TNF-a, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-I0 and IL-18), was investigated using stepwise forward logistic regression. At multivariate analysis, the only independent predictors of the metabolic syndrome were trjglycerldes and IL-18. A 10 mg/dL increase in triglycerides corresponds to an adjusted risk ratio for MS of 1.11 (95% IC: 1.04-1.19); and patients in the top tertile of IL-18 (those with IL-18 530 pglL) had more than three times the likelihood of MS, as compared to the bottom and medium tertiles of IL-18 (patients with IL-18 < 530 pg/L), This relationship was not attenuated by the inclusion of any other variable in the multivariate model. However, the association between metabolic syndrome and IL-18 is no longer significant when IL-18 is treated as a continuous variable (trend p = 0.087). Our results on HIV patients with lipodystrophy confirm previous findings on a strong independent association between IL-18 and MS in the general population. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanism of this association and its role in the development of cardiovascular disease in HIV patients.

Action tremor is a relatively frequent motor sign in patients with Parkinson's disease staging 1-2 on the Hoehn-Yahr scale. Action tremor correlates with rest tremor and rigidity and may be associated with a lower burden of non-motor symptoms. These findings suggest a contribution of non-dopaminergic mechanisms to action tremor pathophysiology.

Telmisartan was effective in reducing blood pressure and improving lipid metabolism and renal function. Reduction of endothelin-1 might be related to an endothelial protective effect. On the basis of these findings, and because of properties unrelated to blood pressure lowering, telmisartan might be the first choice antihypertensive drug for the treatment of HIV-positive patients.