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Biomedical subjects

Anna K Hödl

Publications and source records attributed to Anna K Hödl.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

[Limb apraxia].

Apraxia is the disturbance of planning and of execution of motor activity. It is not caused by a lesion or a disturbance of the motor or sensory nervous system, it is elicited by a dysfunction of an area in the left cortex of the brain. This area in the left fronto-parietotemporal hemisphere is located right beside the area for speech. Therefore it is not unusual that patients with apraxia suffer from aphasia as well. The two different types of limb apraxia are ideomotor apraxia and ideational apraxia. Ideomotor apraxia is apraxia without tool use, it includes imitation of positions of hands and fingers, performance of gestures on demand, and pantomime of object use. Ideational apraxia is apraxia with tool use like cutting with a knife or utilizing a pencil.

Aphasia↗

Neuroprotection in Huntington's disease: a 2-year study on minocycline.

Huntington's disease (HD), a relentlessly progressive neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by a clinical triad of psychiatric, cognitive and motor disturbances. The antibiotic minocycline, a caspase inhibitor exhibiting antiapoptotic properties, has been shown to prolong survival in the transgenic mouse model of HD. We administrated minocycline to 14 patients with genetically confirmed HD. The patients were psychiatrically, neurologically and neuropsychologically evaluated at baseline, and after 6 and 24 months of treatment, using the Unified HD Rating Scale and a neuropsychological test battery. After 12 months, three patients were lost to follow-up so that 11 patients were analysed at the endpoint. Minocycline was well tolerated. Unlike the expected natural course of HD, patients exhibited stabilization in general motor and neuropsychological function at endpoint, after improving in the first 6 months. Moreover, we found a significant amelioration of psychiatric symptoms that was not apparent after the first 6 months. In detail, the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Total Motor Score, the Total Functional Capacity Scale and the Independence Scale, as the most prominent scales in HD, were stabilized after 3 years of treatment. Our results confirm previous animal studies and indicate a neuroprotective effect of this agent in HD. A long-term, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial appears highly warranted for definitively establishing the value of minocycline in HD.

Adult↗