Sex and laterality differences in parkinsonian impairment and transcranial ultrasound in never-treated XXXX and their first degree relatives in an Andean population.

@entity1 @entity304 @entity73 @entity191 @entity854 @entity161 @entity528
We tested the hypothesis that @entity528 in subjects at risk of @entity161 (1), as reflected by midbrain hyperechogenicity (2) and @entity191 @entity73 (3), is asymmetric and influenced by sex. We evaluated 62 subjects with never-treated chronic @entity161 , 80 of their adult, unaffected first degree relatives and 62 healthy controls (matched by sex and age to the cases), part of an Andean population of Northern Argentina. @entity304 was scored blindly using UPDRS-3 (Unified @entity191 Rating Scale) on videotaped exams by 2 independent raters. Transcranial ultrasound was performed by an expert sonographist blind to subject condition with a 2.5 MHz transducer through a temporal bone window. Quantification of echogenic area was carried out on saved images by a different evaluator. We found a significant difference in @entity191 @entity73 between @entity1 , their relatives as well as controls. All three groups showed worse @entity304 on the left side than the right, corresponding with increased echogenicity on the right substantia nigra compared with the left. Females had significantly more right echogenicity than males, and @entity1 and unaffected relatives were significantly more echogenic than controls on that side. On the left, only female @entity1 had significant echogenicity. Our data supports the notion that unaffected relatives of @entity161 subjects have increased @entity304 and concomitant @entity854 which may represent a vulnerability to the disease. Both motor and @entity854 are asymmetric and influenced by sex.
