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Open Access 01-08-2019 | Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation | Neurology and Preclinical Neurological Studies - Original Article

Cholinergic transmission is impaired in patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus: a TMS study

Authors: Raffaele Nardone, Stefan Golaszewski, Kerstin Schwenker, Francesco Brigo, Miriam Maccarrone, Viviana Versace, Luca Sebastianelli, Leopold Saltuari, Yvonne Höller

Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission | Issue 8/2019

Abstract

The pathophysiological mechanisms of cognitive and gait disturbances in subjects with normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) are still unclear. Cholinergic and other neurotransmitter abnormalities have been reported in animal models of NPH. The objective of this study was to evaluate the short latency afferent inhibition (SAI), a transcranial magnetic stimulation protocol which gives the possibility to test an inhibitory cholinergic circuit in the human brain, in subjects with idiopathic NPH (iNPH). We applied SAI technique in twenty iNPH patients before ventricular shunt surgery. Besides SAI, also the resting motor threshold and the short intracortical inhibition to paired stimulation were assessed. A significant reduction of the SAI (p = 0.016), associated with a less pronounced decrease of the resting motor threshold and the short latency intracortical inhibition to paired stimulation, were observed in patients with iNPH at baseline evaluation. We also found significant (p < 0.001) correlations between SAI values and the gait function tests, as well as between SAI and the neuropsychological tests. These findings suggest that the impairment of cholinergic neurons markedly contributes to cognitive decline and gait impairment in subjects with iNPH.

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Title: Cholinergic transmission is impaired in patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus: a TMS study
Authors: Raffaele Nardone
Stefan Golaszewski
Kerstin Schwenker
Francesco Brigo
Miriam Maccarrone
Viviana Versace
Luca Sebastianelli
Leopold Saltuari
Yvonne Höller
Publication date: 01-08-2019
Publisher: Springer Vienna
Keywords: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus
Hydrocephalus
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Published in: Journal of Neural Transmission / Issue 8/2019
Print ISSN: 0300-9564
Electronic ISSN: 1435-1463
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-019-02036-6

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Cholinergic transmission is impaired in patients with idiopathic normal-pressure hydrocephalus: a TMS study

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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