Controlling Fusarium wilt of cape gooseberry by microbial consortia

The use of microbial consortia has become a promising alternative for the management of various diseases. In this study, 18 artificial consortia were designed, consisting of five bacteria, five fungi, and a mixture of five fungi and five bacteria; from a collection of microorganisms isolated from the rhizosphere of cape gooseberry plants grown in two soils potentially suppressive against Fusarium oxysporum. When evaluated under greenhouse conditions for their biocontrol activity on cape gooseberry plants, one consortium was selected for their high efficacy (over 90%) in the control of vascular wilt caused by F. oxysporum f. sp. physali. This was constituted by ten microorganisms, the bacteria Paenibacillus peoriae, Bacillus subtilis, Lysinibacillus sp., Bacillus simplex, and Pseudomonas chlororaphis; and the fungi Beauveria bassiana, Scopulariopsis brevicaulis, Trichoderma gamsii, Trichoderma ghanense, and Trichoderma lignicola. On the other hand, four of the consortia evaluated in the presence of the pathogen mitigated the deleterious effect produced by the pathogen on plant growth, expressing higher dry weights, both in the aerial and root parts. This work represents the first report on using these mixtures of microorganisms to control vascular wilt produced by F. oxysporum. However, further studies are needed to determine their activity in cape gooseberry fields.

Clinical utility of a personalized and long-term monitoring device for Parkinson's disease in a real clinical practice setting: An expert opinion survey on STAT-ON™

BACKGROUND

STAT-ON™ is an objective tool that registers ON-OFF fluctuations making possible to know the state of the patient at every moment of the day in normal life. Our aim was to analyze the opinion of different Parkinson's disease experts about the STAT-ON™ tool after using the device in a real clinical practice setting (RCPS).

METHODS

STAT-ON™ was provided by the Company Sense4Care to Spanish neurologists for using it in a RCPS. Each neurologist had the device for at least three months and could use it in PD patients at his/her own discretion. In February 2020, a survey with 30 questions was sent to all participants.

RESULTS

Two thirds of neurologists (53.8% females; mean age 44.9±9 years old) worked in a Movement Disorders Unit, the average experience in PD was 16±6.9 years, and 40.7% of them had previously used other devices. A total of 119 evaluations were performed in 114 patients (range 2-9 by neurologist; mean 4.5±2.3). STAT-ON™ was considered "quite" to "very useful" by 74% of the neurologists with an overall opinion of 6.9±1.7 (0, worst; 10, best). STAT-ON™ was considered better than diaries by 70.3% of neurologists and a useful tool for the identification of patients with advanced PD by 81.5%. Proper identification of freezing of gait episodes and falls were frequent limitations reported.

CONCLUSION

STAT-ON™ could be a useful device for using in PD patients in clinical practice.

Clinical utility of a personalized and long-term monitoring device for Parkinson's disease in a real clinical practice setting: An expert opinion survey on STAT-ON™

BACKGROUND

STAT-ON™ is an objective tool that registers ON-OFF fluctuations making possible to know the state of the patient at every moment of the day in normal life. Our aim was to analyze the opinion of different Parkinson's disease experts about the STAT-ON™ tool after using the device in a real clinical practice setting (RCPS).

METHODS

STAT-ON™ was provided by the Company Sense4Care to Spanish neurologists for using it in a RCPS. Each neurologist had the device for at least three months and could use it in PD patients at his/her own discretion. In February 2020, a survey with 30 questions was sent to all participants.

RESULTS

Two thirds of neurologists (53.8% females; mean age 44.9±9 years old) worked in a Movement Disorders Unit, the average experience in PD was 16±6.9 years, and 40.7% of them had previously used other devices. A total of 119 evaluations were performed in 114 patients (range 2-9 by neurologist; mean 4.5±2.3). STAT-ON™ was considered "quite" to "very useful" by 74% of the neurologists with an overall opinion of 6.9±1.7 (0, worst; 10, best). STAT-ON™ was considered better than diaries by 70.3% of neurologists and a useful tool for the identification of patients with advanced PD by 81.5%. Proper identification of freezing of gait episodes and falls were frequent limitations reported.

CONCLUSION

STAT-ON™ could be a useful device for using in PD patients in clinical practice.

Non-motor symptoms burden, mood, and gait problems are the most significant factors contributing to a poor quality of life in non-demented Parkinson's disease patients: Results from the COPPADIS Study Cohort

OBJECTIVE

To identify factors related to a poor health-related and global quality of life (QoL) in a cohort of non-demented Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and compare to a control group.

METHODS

The data correspond to the baseline evaluation of the COPPADIS-2015 Study, an observational, 5-year follow-up, multicenter, evaluation study. Three instruments were used to assess QoL: (1) the 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), (2) a subjective rating of global QoL (PQ-10), and (3) the EUROHIS-QOL 8-item index (EUROHIS-QOL8). Multiple linear regression methods were used to evaluate the direct impact of different variables on these QoL measures.

RESULTS

QoL was worse in PD patients (n = 692; 62.6 ± 8.9 years old, 60.3% males) than controls (n = 206; 61 ± 8.3 years old, 49.5% males): PDQ-39, 17.1 ± 13.5 vs 4.4 ± 6.3 (p < 0.0001); PQ-10, 7.3 ± 1.6 vs 8.1 ± 1.2 (p < 0.0001); EUROHIS-QOL8, 3.8 ± 0.6 vs 4.2 ± 0.5 (p < 0.0001). A high correlation was observed between PDQ-39 and Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) (r = 0.72; p < 0.0001), and PDQ-39 and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) (r = 0.65; p < 0.0001). For health-related QoL (PDQ-39), non-motor symptoms burden (NMSS), mood (BDI-II), and gait problems (Freezing Of Gait Questionnaire [FOGQ]) provided the highest contribution to the model (β = 0.32, 0.28, and 0.27, respectively; p < 0.0001); whereas mood and gait problems contributed the most to global QoL (PQ-10, β = -0.46 and -0.21, respectively; EUROHIS-QOL8, β = -0.44 and -0.23, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

QoL is worse in PD patients than in controls. Mood, non-motor symptoms burden, and gait problems seem to be the most relevant factors affecting health-related and global perceived QoL in non-demented PD patients.

Comorbid conditions associated with Parkinson's disease: A longitudinal and comparative study with Alzheimer disease and control subjects

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

To study what comorbid conditions were present at baseline and 3years later in a cohort of Spanish Parkinson's disease (PD) patients, to compare comorbidity with both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and control groups and to analyze the role of comorbidity as predictor of mortality.

METHODS

One hundred and forty-seven non-demented PD patients (57.1% males; 70.9±8.6years old) were included in this 36months follow-up (2012-2015), monocenter, evaluation study. The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), Charlson Index (CI), Comorbidity-Polypharmacy Score (CPS) and Elixhauser Comorbidity Measure (ECM) were used to assess comorbidity at baseline and at 3years. Forty-four AD patients and 44 control subjects were included as comparator groups.

RESULTS

Total number of comorbidities (ICD-10) and polypharmacy at baseline were higher in PD and AD patients than controls (4.4±2.3 vs 5.2±2.4 vs 3.4±1.9 [p=0.001] and 81.6% vs 75% vs 56.8% [p=0.003], respectively). Diseases of the circulatory system (ICD-10/chapter-IX) and endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (ICD-10/chapter-IV) were the most frequent in all groups. There was a significant increase in comorbidity (mean, +1.6±2.8) in all groups (p<0.0001) without differences between them. Seventeen patients died and 8 cases were did not follow-up. Comorbidity was a predictor of death in PD patients after adjust for other covariates (including age, sex, disease duration, disease stage, motor status and non-motor symptoms): ICD-10 (total number of comorbidities), hazard ratio 1.285 (95% confidence interval, 1.047-1.577; p=0.017); CI, hazard ratio 1.462 (95% confidence interval, 1.045-2.047; p=0.027).

CONCLUSIONS

Comorbidity is frequent in PD patients, increases significantly over time and predicts mortality.