To describe demographic and clinical characteristics, healthcare resource use, costs, and treatment patterns in three migraine cohorts.

This retrospective observational study using administrative data examined patients with episodic migraine (EM), chronic migraine (CM) (without medication overuse headache [MOH]), and medication overuse headache in Alberta, Canada. Migraine patients were identified between 2012 and 2018 based on ≥ 1 diagnostic codes or triptan prescription. Patients with CM were defined using parameter estimates of a logistic regression model, and MOH was defined as patients with an average of ≥ 15 supply days covered of acute medications. EM was defined as patients without CM or MOH. Study outcomes were summarized using descriptive statistics.

Patients with EM (n = 144,574), CM (n = 27,283), and MOH (n = 11,485) were included. Higher rates of healthcare use and costs were observed for CM (mean [SD] all-cause cost: ($12,693 [40,664]) and MOH ($16,611.5 [$38,748]) versus episodic migraine ($4,251 [$40,637]). Across all cohorts, opioids were the most dispensed acute medication (range across cohorts: 31.7%–89.8%), while antidepressants and anticonvulsants were the most dispensed preventive medication. Preventative medication classes were used by a minority of patients in each cohort, except anticonvulsants, where 50% of medication overuse patients had a dispensation.

Patients with CM and MOH have a greater burden of illness compared to patients with EM. The overutilization of acute medication, particularly opioids, and the underutilization of preventive medications highlight an unmet need to more effectively manage migraine.

The homeless population experience significant inequalities in health, and there is an increasing appreciation of the potential of lifestyle factors in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease. We performed a study on the prevalence and distribution of pathological alpha-synuclein deposition throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems in a homeless population.

Forty-four homeless individuals consecutively available for autopsy were recruited. Immunohistochemistry was performed using 5G4 antibody recognizing disease-associated forms of alpha-synuclein, complemented by phospho-synuclein antibody on autopsy tissues collected from 18 regions of the brain and spinal cord, as well as the right and left olfactory bulb, the cauda equina, the extramedullary portion of the vagus nerve, and 27 sites of peripheral organs.

The study cohort consisted of 38 males and 6 females, median age 58 years (range 32–67). Lewy-related pathology was present in the brains of three male cases. One showed Braak stage 2 (60 years old), and two stage 4 (56 and 59 years old). One of the Braak stage 4 cases had Lewy-related pathology in the spinal cord, the cauda equina, and the extramedullary portion of the vagus nerve. Examination of 27 sites of peripheral organs found that all three cases with Lewy-related pathology present in the brain were devoid of peripheral organ alpha-synuclein pathology. Multiple system-type alpha-synuclein pathology was not found.

Our study, representing a snapshot of the homeless population that came to autopsy, suggests that alpha-synuclein pathology is prevalent in the homeless supporting further study of this vulnerable population.

To assess if intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) affects the risk of recurrent preoperative cerebrovascular events before carotid surgery or stenting in patients with symptomatic ≥ 50% carotid stenosis.

Three cohorts of symptomatic ≥ 50% carotid stenosis patients were merged. To make the control group relevant, we excluded patients not presenting with stroke on the day of symptom onset. The risk of preoperative cerebrovascular events up to 30 days was compared between the IVT-treated and non-IVT-treated.

In total, 316 patients were included, 64 (20%) treated with IVT. Those treated with IVT had similar risk of recurrent ipsilateral ischemic stroke or retinal artery occlusion (12% at day 7, 12% at day 30) as those not treated (9% at day 7, 15% at day 30; adjusted HR 0.9, 95% CI 0.4–2.2). There was a tendency (p = 0.09) towards time-dependency in the data where the recurrence risk was higher in IVT-treated at day 0 (6% in IVT-treated, 1% in non-IVT-treated, OR 5.5, 95% CI 1.2–25.4, p = 0.03). This was not significant when adjusting for co-factors (adjusted OR 4.4, 95% CI 0.9–21.8, p = 0.07) and was offset by a later risk decrease, with no remaining risk difference between IVT-treated and non-IVT-treated at day 7.

Intravenous thrombolysis treatment does not seem to affect the risk of recurrent ipsilateral ischemic stroke in patients with symptomatic ≥50% carotid stenosis: The risk is high in both IVT-treated and non-IVT-treated. However, there might be a risk increase on the day of IVT treatment that is offset by a risk decrease during the first week.

Embolization of middle meningeal artery (EMMA) is a relatively new treatment for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH). To date, an objective method that assesses or describes the extent of EMMA for the treatment of CSDH does not exist. Recently, the concept of a novel grading scale for EMMA in patients with CSDH has emerged. However, this has not been applied to a clinical case setting and inter-rater reliability has not yet been studied. The purpose of this study was to validate the grading scale in clinical practice and to assess for inter-rater reliability.

We retrospectively examined consecutive patients who underwent EMMA for CSDH. Patients were included if the whole head angiogram from common carotid as well as external carotid arteries before and after EMMA were available in the arterial, capillary as well as venous phases. Two independent readers, each with more than 5 years of experience in independent practice, assessed the angiograms for the grading of EMMA and assigned a score ranging between 0 and 3. The grading score between the two readers were compared using Cohen’s Kappa score to assess the inter-rater reliability.

In 19 patients, we found that EMMA had no periprocedural morbidity and mortality. The number of cases in each EMMA grading score category are as follows: 0 n =1; 1 n =3; 2 n =1; and 3 n =10. There was substantial inter-rater reliability for the assessment of grading of EMMA (Kappa = 0.74).

The novel EMMA grading scheme demonstrated substantial inter-rater reliability and appears promising.

For multiply recurrent glioma, options are few and choices are very limited. Etoposide in combination with carboplatin and/or bevacizumab has been evaluated in recurrent glioma with modest efficacy. This retrospective study describes the efficacy of etoposide monotherapy in adults with multiply recurrent diffuse glioma.

In this single center retrospective series, all adult patients with radiographically proven multiply recurrent diffuse glioma (WHO grade 2–4) treated with etoposide between 2016 and 2020 were evaluated. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) after initiating etoposide were calculated for the total group and for different histologic tumor types. In addition, treatment-related toxicity was recorded.

Totally, 48 patients with a median age 43 years-old (range 24–78) were included. Etoposide was given as 3rd line of treatment in 18 patients (37.5%) and as 4th or 5th line of treatment in 30 patients (62.5%). The majority were diagnosed with a glioblastoma, WHO grade 4 (27, 56.3%). The median PFS was 8.6 weeks (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.3–8.9). The median OS of the total population was 4.0 months (95% CI: 2.4–5.6). Patients with an oligodendroglioma had the best OS (median 13 months), compared to astrocytoma and glioblastoma, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.15). Etoposide was stopped due to progression in the majority of the patients (81.3%). Only 1 patient had a grade 3 toxicity.

Etoposide is a well-tolerated chemotherapy in heavily pretreated patients with multiply recurrent glioma and could be considered when other options are not available. OS was 4 months after initiating etoposide.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common chronic neurodegenerative condition. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare provision faced challenges worldwide. We aimed to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic changed healthcare experiences for people living with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) in Canada.

We conducted a national cross-sectional online survey about healthcare access for PwP in 2020. Participants (n = 298) were recruited through Parkinson Canada, the national patient association and its provincial partners, that advertised the study in a monthly newsletter. We used descriptive statistics and multivariate regression modelling to test associations of interest. A P < 0.05 was deemed statistically significant.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, PwP reported greater difficulty obtaining PD-related healthcare services and lesser satisfaction with healthcare provision compared to pre-pandemic experiences. Dissatisfaction with care was associated with the presence of barriers to access services, a lack of confidence in accessing services remotely, pre-pandemic care dissatisfaction, and difficulty in obtaining care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unmet care needs were associated with a lack of confidence in accessing services remotely, dissatisfaction with pre-pandemic care, difficulty obtaining pre-pandemic care, and communication challenges.

Our results suggest that healthcare experiences for PwP significantly changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, with challenges in access to virtual care. Poorer pre-pandemic care experiences were amplified during the pandemic.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is experienced by > 600,000 Canadians. Disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for earlier stages of disease are in development. Existing health system capacity constraints and the need for biomarker-driven diagnostics to confirm DMT eligibility are concerning. This study aimed to characterize the capacity gap related to early AD (eAD) treatment with DMTs in Canada.

A capacity model was developed to simulate the flow of a patient from screening to treatment for eAD to quantify the gap between available and required healthcare resources and qualify the bottlenecks restricting the patient journey at a provincial and national level. The model inputs (epidemiological, human resource, and clinical) were evidence-based, healthcare professional-, and patient advocate-informed.

The model estimated that nationally < 2% of patients would have access to the required healthcare resources for treatment with a DMT. Eligibility assessment represented the step with the largest capacity gap across all provinces, with a wait list of about 382,000 Canadians one year following DMT introduction. The top three resource gaps included AD specialist time and positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging exam slots. Sensitivity analysis showed that full reliance on cerebrospinal fluid for eligibility testing increased capacity for assessment by about 47,000 patients.

This model highlights that the Canadian health system is critically under-resourced to diagnose, assess, and treat patients with eAD with DMT. It underscores an urgent need for national policy and provincial resource allocation to close the gap.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is one of the most common extra-cardiac manifestations of wild-type transthyretin amyloidosis (wtATTR); however, the characteristics of CTS in this population remain poorly understood.

This retrospective cohort study reports findings from a single-centre experience of comprehensive neurological screening at the time of wtATTR diagnosis by nerve conduction studies (NCS) and neurologist assessment.

Seventy-nine patients underwent neurological screening, 73 (92%) males, mean age 79.2 ± 7.5 years. Seventy-four (94%) had electrodiagnostic findings of median neuropathy at the wrist (MNW), 37 (50%) of which had a prior diagnosis of CTS and 37 (50%) had a new diagnosis of MNW. Over half of wtATTR patients (42, 53%) had bilateral MNW on screening. Most with pre-existing CTS had bilateral disease (28, 76%) and underwent bilateral carpal tunnel release (CTR) (23, 62%) prior to screening. Twenty-one (19%) wrists had mild MNW, 43 (38%) moderate and 49 (43%) severe. Twenty-one (28%) wtATTR patients with MNW were asymptomatic, 10 of which (48%) had moderate disease. Nineteen (36%) wtATTR patients with symptomatic MNW had recurrent disease despite previous CTR. As a result of screening, 36 (68%) patients with symptomatic MNW were referred for CTR.

MNW is exceptionally common at the time of wtATTR diagnosis, affecting 94% of our patients. Most had severe, bilateral MNW on NCS. Some were asymptomatic, despite having moderate disease. The rate of recurrence following CTR was observed to be higher in wtATTR patients than the general population.

Traumatic spinal cord injuries (tSCI) are common, often leaving patients irreparably debilitated. Therefore, novel strategies such as nerve transfers (NT) are needed for mitigating secondary SCI damage and improving function. Although different tSCI NT options exist, little is known about the epidemiological and injury-related aspects of this patient population. Here, we report such characteristics to better identify and understand the number and types of tSCI individuals who may benefit from NTs.

Two peripheral nerve experts independently evaluated all adult tSCI individuals < 80 years old admitted with cervical tSCI (C1–T1) between 2005 and 2019 with documented tSCI severity using the ASIA Impairment Scale for suitability for NT (nerve donor with MRC strength ≥ 4/5 and recipient ≤ 2/5). Demographic, traumatic injury, and neurological injury variables were collected and analyzed.

A total of 709 tSCI individuals were identified with 224 (32%) who met the selection criteria for participation based on their tSCI level (C1–T1). Of these, 108 (15% of all tSCIs and 48% of all cervical tSCIs) were deemed to be appropriate NT candidates. Due to recovery, 6 NT candidates initially deem appropriate no longer qualified by their last follow-up. Conversely, 19 individuals not initially considered appropriate then become eligible by their last follow-up.

We found that a large proportion of individuals with cervical tSCI could potentially benefit from NTs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to detail the number of tSCI individuals that may qualify for NT from a large prospective database.

Causalgia and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) type II with nerve injury can be difficult to treat. Surgical peripheral nerve denervation for causalgia has been largely abandoned by pain clinicians because of a perception that this may aggravate a central component (anesthesia dolorosa).

We selectively searched Pubmed, Cochrane, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, and Scopus from 1947 for articles, books, and book chapters for evidence of surgical treatments (nerve resection and amputation) and treatment related to autoimmunity and immune deficiency with CRPS.

Reviews were found for the treatment of causalgia or CRPS type II (n = 6), causalgia relieved by nerve resection (n = 6), and causalgia and CRPS II treated by amputation (n = 8). Twelve reports were found of autoimmunity with CRPS, one paper of these on associated immune deficiency and autoimmunity, and two were chosen for discussion regarding treatment with immunoglobulin and one by plasma exchange. We document a report of a detailed and unique pathological examination of a CRPS type II affected amputated limb and related successful treatment with immunoglobulin.

Nerve resection, with grafting, and relocation may relieve uncomplicated causalgia and CRPS type II in some patients in the long term. However, an unrecognized and treatable immunological condition may underly some CRPS II cases and can lead to the ultimate failure of surgical treatments.