No description available.

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, within this categoryof diseases it is among the most prevalent worldwide. The etiology of PD isbased in progressive deterioration of neural tissue in the basal ganglia (neuronalnuclei located at the base of the cerebrum) and their related structures. Current research is focusing on treatment approaches to either enhance or replaceexisting pharmaceutical treatment approaches, such as dopamine replacementtherapy. In this project, the focus was on finding correlates between movementdata and neurological signals to provide insight into potential biomarkers forcomplex motor symptoms of PD. This will in turn provide a starting point forspecifically targeted closed-loop neural stimulation that alleviates these symptoms. Although the data available at the time of this thesis did not providesufficient insight to derive a conclusion on the neural correlates, a pipeline wasdeveloped, which analyzes and synchronizes kinematic and neural data and willenable further exploration as additional data is obtained.

No description available.

Dopamine agonist therapy and deep brain stimulation (DBS) are both linked to increased impulsivity in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We trained intact and PD-like rats on a rat gambling task (rGT) measuring impulsive choice and premature responding. Animals were then retested with/without treatment, pramipexole (PPX) or DBS, administered chronically prior to rGT testing. Early PD-like rats did not exhibit major differences in rGT performance or treatment response. Our work suggests that DBS and PPX are not intrinsically linked with increases in impulsivity. Neither DBS nor PPX disrupted gambling-like behaviour in our paradigm, while differential effects on premature and perseverant responding in the task were observed with treatment. Based on our findings, the previously reported ability of PPX to increase impulsive choice might not be mediated by the dopamine D3 receptor. Interestingly, our work suggests that the effects of STN-DBS on impulse control might be amplitude-dependent.

Dopamine agonist therapy and deep brain stimulation (DBS) are both linked to increased impulsivity in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We trained intact and PD-like rats on a rat gambling task (rGT) measuring impulsive choice and premature responding. Animals were then retested with/without treatment, pramipexole (PPX) or DBS, administered chronically prior to rGT testing. Early PD-like rats did not exhibit major differences in rGT performance or treatment response. Our work suggests that DBS and PPX are not intrinsically linked with increases in impulsivity. Neither DBS nor PPX disrupted gambling-like behaviour in our paradigm, while differential effects on premature and perseverant responding in the task were observed with treatment. Based on our findings, the previously reported ability of PPX to increase impulsive choice might not be mediated by the dopamine D3 receptor. Interestingly, our work suggests that the effects of STN-DBS on impulse control might be amplitude-dependent.

L'une des principales barrières à la prise en charge optimale des patients sous traitement antirétroviral est l'accès limité aux tests de charge virale (CV) et de génotypage particulièrement en milieu décentralisé. Ces tests ne sont généralement disponibles qu'au niveau des structures sanitaires centrales de grandes villes et le plasma en est l'échantillon de référence. Or, son transfert des régions périphériques vers les laboratoires de références est difficile, voire impossible. Pour rapprocher les patients du laboratoire, nous avons démontré la possibilité d'assurer un suivi virologique complet (CV et génotypage) à partir des DBS collectés et acheminés dans des conditions de terrain. Nous avons également pour la première fois, documenté la réponse virologique au traitement antirétroviral et la diversité génétique du VIH-1 chez des patients adultes suivis en milieux décentralisés au Sénégal, au Mali et en Guinée Conakry. Globalement, malgré les défauts d'observance au traitement souligné, les résultats de nos travaux ne montrent pas de différences significatives dans la survenue de l'échec virologique entre patients suivis dans les structures sanitaires centrales et périphériques, ceci quelque soit le pays considéré. Au Sénégal, chez les enfants nés de mères séropositives, la résistance vis à vis des INNTI était plus prépondérante, probablement du fait de l'utilisation systématique de la Névirapine durant la PTME. Par ailleurs, aucune mutation de résistance aux inhibiteurs d'intégrase n'a été observée malgré des taux de résistance élevés chez des patients en échec de première et deuxième ligne de traitement. Nos travaux confirment également une grande diversité génétique des sous-types viraux avec cependant la prédominance du CRF02_AG dans la sous région Ouest Africaine. Ces travaux de thèse mettent en évidence la faisabilité et la pertinence du DBS comme support pour le suivi virologique des patients en milieux décentralisés. Son utilisation a permis de montrer d'autre part des taux d'échecs virologiques élevés indiquant la nécessité de renforcer l'adhérence au traitement. Enfin, nos résultats soulignent l'utilité de prendre davantage en considération les profils de résistance pour initier un traitement de relais. / One of the major barriers to the optimal care of patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy is the limited access to viral load (VL) and genotyping tests, especially in remote areas. These technologies are usually available only at central health facilities in larger cities and plasma is the reference sample. However, plasma or whole blood samples shipment from remote areas to reference lab faces several constraints or even impossible. In order to bring closer patients to reference lab, we have demonstrated the ability of DBS (Dried Blood Spots) collected and shipped in field conditions to provide complete virological monitoring (VL and genotyping). We also documented for the first time, virological outcome of ART and HIV-1 genetic diversity in adult patients followed up in decentralized settings in Senegal, Mali and Guinea Conakry. Overall, despite the low treatment adherence noted sometimes, our findings show no significant differences in the occurrence of virological failure among patients followed up in the central and peripheral health facilities, whatever the country. In Senegal, no integrase inhibitors associated DRM has been found despite the high rate of resistance in patients failing first and second-line treatment. Furthermore, among children born to HIV infected mothers, NNRTI-associated drug resistant mutations (DRM) were more predominant, probably because of systematic use of Nevirapine in MTCT. Our studies also confirm the high genetic diversity of viral subtypes, with the dominance of CRF02_AG in West Africa. This work presented here highlights the feasibility and relevance of DBS as support for the virological monitoring of patients in decentralized settings in West Africa. Furthermore, its use showed high rate of virological failure indicating the need to reinforce adherence to treatment. Finally, our results highlight the utility to considering carefully drug resistance patterns before switching to another ART regimen.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a potent symptomatic therapy for Parkinson’s disease, but it is debated whether it causes or prevents neurodegeneration. We used serum neurofilament light chain (NFL) as a reporter for neuronal damage and found no difference between 92 patients with chronic STN-DBS and 57 patients on best medical treatment. Serum NFL transiently increased after DBS surgery whereas the initiation of STN stimulation did not affect NFL levels, suggesting that DBS surgery can be associated with neuronal damage whereas stimulation itself is not.

Mobile communication has become an essential part of our daily life. We love the flexibility of wireless cell phones and even accept their lower quality of service when compared to wired links. Similarly, we are looking forward to the day that we can continue watching our favorite TV programs while travelling anywhere and everywhere. Mobility, flexibility, and portability are the themes of the next generation communication. Motivated and fascinated by such technology breakthroughs, this effort is geared towards enhancing the quality of wireless services and bringing mobile satellite reception one step closer to the market. Meanwhile, phased array antennas are vital components for RADAR applications where the antenna is required to have certain scan capabilities. One of the main concerns in that perspective is how to avoid the potential of scan blindness in the required scan range. Targeting to achieve wide-band wide-scan angle phased arrays free from any scan blindness our efforts is also geared. Conventionally, the key to lower the profile of the antenna is to use planar structures. In that perspective microstrip patch antennas have drawn the attention of antenna engineers since the 1970s due to their attractive features of being low profile, compact size, light weight, and amenable to low-cost PCB fabrication processes. However, patch elements are basically resonating at a single frequency, typically have <2% bandwidth, which is a major deficit that impedes their usage in relatively wide-band applications. There are various approaches to enhance the patch antennas bandwidth including suspended substrates, multi-stack patches, and metalized cavities backing these patches. Metalized cavity-backed patch structures have been demonstrated to give the best performance, however, they are very expensive to manufacture. In this dissertation, we develop an alternative low-cost bandwidth enhancement topology. The proposed topology is based on substrate-integrated waveguides. The great potential of the proposed structure lies in being amenable to the conventional PCB fabrication. Moreover, substrate-integrated cavity-backed structures facilitate the design of sophisticated arrays that are very expensive to develop using the conventional metalized cavity-backed topology, which includes the common broadside arrays used in fixed-beam applications and the scanned phased arrays used in RADAR applications.

Bakgrund: Essentiell tremor (ET) behandlas bland annat med djup hjärnstimulering (DBS). Många patienter drabbas av stimuleringsinducerad dysartri (SID) till följd av behandlingsmetoden, vilket i sin tur kan påverka talförståeligheten. Oral diadochokinesi (DDK) används av kliniker vid utvärdering av dysartri då det pressar det artikulatoriska systemet. Studier har påvisat samband mellan akustiska egenskaper från DDK och naturligt tal. Ett fåtal studier har undersökt sambandet mellan DDK och talförståelighet men i dagsläget saknas studier inom området som bygger på fler än en kvantifiering av DDK.Syfte: Att undersöka om DDK kan predicera nedsatt talförståelighet till följd av DBS hos patienter med ET. Metod: Inspelade DDK-sekvenser av stavelserna [pa], [ta] och [ka] från 36 patienter med ET samlades in och matchades med skattningar av deras talförståelighet. Inspelningarna märktes upp med hjälp av en tränad mjukvara och kontrollerades sedan manuellt. Ett batteri av 45 akustiska parametrar beräknades på samtliga sekvenser. Statistiska beräkningar genomfördes för att undersöka om erhållna mått kunde predicera talförståelighet.Resultat: För prediktion av talförståelighet påvisades [pa] vara mer värdefull än [ta] och [ka]. Högst uppnådda resultat visade att [pa] kunde förklara 23% av variationen i talförståelighet.Slutsatser: Resultatet visar att DDK kan fungera som en relativt god prediktor av nedsatt talförståelighet till följd av DBS hos patienter med ET. Däremot bör man vara försiktig med att tillskriva DDK ett större förtroende gällande dess samband med talförståelighet, eftersom låga resultat erhölls i vissa beräkningar. Vidare forskning bör validera den använda modellen. / Tal- och rösteffekter av djup hjärnstimulering hos patienter med essentiell tremor, D.nr: 2014-67-32M.

Introdução: a ação antiestrogênica do tamoxifeno (TAM) é dependente da bioativação à endoxifeno (EDF) e 4-hidroxitamoxifeno (HTF). É bastante provável que sua eficácia terapêutica esteja relacionada ao alcance de um limiar nos níveis de EDF (>5,9 ng mL-1). Entretanto, as concentrações plasmáticas de EDF são altamente variáveis, em parte devido a polimorfismos no gene da CYP2D6 e ao uso de inibidores da enzima. A CYP3A4 também contribui para a formação do EDF e pode ser influenciada por interações medicamentosas e exposição solar. Recentemente, o polimorfismo CYP3A4*22 foi associado à redução da atividade da enzima. Entretanto, pouco se sabe sobre seu impacto na formação do EDF. Objetivo: Em virtude da alta variabilidade na resposta terapêutica e os múltiplos fatores associados ao metabolismo do TAM, o presente estudo objetivou avaliar o efeito dos polimorfismos da CYP2D6 e CYP3A4, interações medicamentosas e exposição à vitamina D na bioativação do TAM. Adicionalmente, dois métodos analíticos para a otimização do tratamento através da medida das razões metabólicas da CYP2D6 e quantificação do TAM e metabólitos em manchas de sangue seco (DBS) foram desenvolvidos. Patientes & métodos: Cento e dezesseis pacientes em tratamento adjuvante com o TAM forneceram amostras de plasma para dosagens do TAM, metabótilos e 25OHD3 no inverno e verão. As concentrações de TAM e metabólitos em plasma e DBS foram medidas por LCMS/ MS. Foram avaliados os genótipos da CYP2D6 e CYP3A4, bem como fenótipos obtidos pelas razões metabólicas determinadas após administração dos fármacos sonda dextrometorfano e omeprazol. As concentrações de vitamina D3 em plasma foram quantificadas por HPLC-UV. Foram obtidas informações sobre uso de inibidores ou indutores das enzimas e suplementação de vitamina D. Resultados: Cerca de 20% das pacientes apresentaram atividade metabólica reduzida para a CYP2D6 e 7% para a CYP3A4. Aproximadamente 30% das metabolizadoras lentas (ML), 56% das metabolizadoras intermediárias (MI) e 11.3% das metabolizadoras rápidas (MR) usavam fármaco inibidor da CYP2D6. As concentrações de EDF diminuiram proporcionalmente à redução da atividade metabólica da CYP2D6 (ML 2,79 ng mL-1, MI 5.36 ng mL-1 e MR 10,65 ng mL-1, P<0.01). A mediana das concentrações plasmáticas de TAM e HTF em pacientes CYP2D6 MI com metabolismo reduzido da CYP3A4 (161,50 ng mL-1 e 1,32 ng mL-1, respectivamente) foram superiores as encontradas nos pacientes CYP2D6 MI com metabolismo funcional da CYP3A4 (122,07 ng mL-1 e 0.61 ng mL-1, respectivamente, P<0.05). Adicionalmente, as concentrações de HTF e TAM foram aproximadamente 50% superiores em pacientes com genótipo CYP3A4*22 em comparação aos pacientes *1/*1. A sazonalidade também contribuiu para a variabilidade das concentrações dos metabólitos ativos, os níveis de EDF foram 24% e HTF 42% superiores no verão. Nas análises de DBS, foi possível identificar 96% dos pacientes com concentrações de EDF abaixo do limiar clínico, indicando seu potencial uso no monitoramento terapêutico do TAM. Conclusão: a CYP3A4 contribui para a bioativação do TAM através da formação de HTF, tornando-se mais importante em condições de atividade diminuída ou ausente da CYP2D6. Os níveis plasmáticos de EDF e HTF demonstraram ser influenciados pela sazonalidade, com aumento significativo no verão. Entretanto o mecanismo relacionado a associação da vitamina D, exposição solar e bioativação do TAM permanecem por ser elucidados. / Background: The therapeutic antiestrogenic effect of tamoxifen (TAM) requires metabolic activation to endoxifen (EDF) and 4-hydroxytamoxifen (HTF). Adequate therapeutic outcome seems to be dependent on the achievement of a threshold of EDF concentration (>5.9 ng mL-1). EDF plasma levels are highly variable among patients, which could be partly explained by polymorphisms in the CYP2D6 gene and the use of enzymes inhibitor drugs. In a lesser extent, CYP3A4 also contributes to EDF formation and can be influenced by drug interactions and sun exposure. From a genetic point of view, a recently described CYP3A4*22 polymorphism has been associated with reduced enzyme activity. However, there is little knowledge about the impact of CYP3A4 polymorphisms on EDF formation. Objective: In view of the large variability on therapeutic response and the multiple factors associated to TAM metabolic activation, the present study aimed to evaluate the effect of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 polymorphisms, drug interactions and vitamin D exposure on TAM metabolic activation. Additionally, two analytical methods for optimization of TAM treatment by measurement of CYP2D6 metabolic ratios and quantification of TAM and metabolites in dried blood sopts (DBS) were developed. Patients & methods: One hundred and sixteen patients under TAM therapy provided blood samples for measurement of TAM, NDT, EDF, HTF and 25OHD3 at Winter and Summer. TAM and metabolites were measured in plasma and DBS by LC-MS/MS. CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 genotypes and phenotypes, given according to [DMT]/[DTP] and [OME]/[OMS] metabolic ratios after administration of probe drugs, were also evaluated. Vitamine D3 was measured in plasma by HPLC-UV. Data on use of CYP2D6 and CYP3A4 inhibitor or inducer drugs and vitamin D supplementation were recorded. Results: About 20% of patients had reduced CYP2D6 metabolic activity and 7% CYP3A4 impaired metabolism. Approximately 30% of CYP2D6 poor metabolizers (PM), 56% of intermediate metabolizers (IM) and 11.3% of extensive metabolizers (EM) were using CYP2D6 inhibitor drugs. EDF levels diminished proportionally to the reduction of CYP2D6 metabolic activity (PM 2.79 ng mL-1, IM 5.36 ng mL-1 and EM 10.65 ng mL-1, P<0.01). Median plasma levels of TAM (161.50 ng mL-1) and HTF (1.32 ng mL-1) in CYP2D6 IM patients with reduced CYP3A4 metabolism were higher (P<0.05) than those from CYP2D6 IM patients with functional CYP3A4 metabolism (122.07 ng mL-1 and 0.61 ng mL-1, respectively). Indeed, HTF and TAM plasma levels were approximately 50% higher in patients with CYP3A4*22 genotype compared to patients with alleles *1/*1. Seasonality also contributed to EDF and HTF variability, summer concentrations were 24% and 42% higher compared to winter. The DBS method was able to identify 96% of patients with plasma EDF concentrations below the clinical threshold and can be used in therapeutic monitoring of TAM. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that CYP3A4 contributes to the bioactivation of TAM through formation of HTF and becomes increasingly important in conditions of diminished or absent CYP2D6 activity. A significant variability on EDF and HTF exposure related to seasonality was identified, with considerable higher plasma concentrations during summer. The mechanism relating vitamin D status, seasonality and biotransformation of TAM still remains to be elucidated.