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April is Parkinson’s Disease awareness month

April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, and Monday 11th April is World Parkinson’s Day.  During this month, Parkinson’s Australia is promoting the importance of identifying some of the lesser-known early warning signs and symptoms of Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s Australia

UpToDate

Diagnosis

General

Treatment

Articles

Diagnosis

Research

Treatment

E-books

E-journals

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Articles

Diagnosis

Functional impairment in individuals with prodromal or unrecognized Parkinson Disease
The findings suggest that individuals with prodromal or unrecognized Parkinson disease may have greater impairment in activities involving mobility and strength up to 3 years prior to diagnosis compared with the general population. Identification of prodromal disease may facilitate earlier intervention to improve function. JAMA 19 December 2022

Diagnosis and treatment of Parkinson Disease : A review
Parkinson disease is a heterogeneous disease with rapidly and slowly progressive forms. Treatment involves pharmacologic approaches (typically with levodopa preparations prescribed with or without other medications) and nonpharmacologic approaches (such as exercise and physical, occupational, and speech therapies). Approaches such as deep brain stimulation and treatment with levodopa-carbidopa enteral suspension can help individuals with medication-resistant tremor, worsening symptoms when the medication wears off, and dyskinesias. JAMA 11 February 2020

Interdependence of metals and its binding proteins in Parkinson’s disease for diagnosis
Analyzing the levels of serum metals along with the gene expression in PD opens up an ideal and feasible diagnostic intervention for PD. Hence, this will be a cost effective and rapid method for the detection of Parkinson’s disease. npj parkinson’s disease 4 January 2021

Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis using Laplacian Score, Gaussian Process Regression and Self-Organizing Maps
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex degenerative brain disease that affects nerve cells in the brain responsible for body movement. Machine learning is widely used to track the progression of PD in its early stages by predicting unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale (UPDRS) scores. In this paper, the authors aim to develop a new method for PD diagnosis with the aid of supervised and unsupervised learning techniques. Brain sciences 24 March 2023

Nigral glucose metabolism as a diagnostic marker of neurodegenerative parkinsonian syndromes
Glucose metabolism of the substantia nigra (SN) can distinguish patients with neurodegenerative parkinsonian syndromes (NP) from controls with good diagnostic accuracy and can be used as a marker of nigral degeneration. Its evaluation is particularly valuable in PD patients without elevated (PD-related metabolic pattern) PDRP expression and may thus help to narrow the diagnostic gap of [18F]FDG PET in neurodegenerative parkinsonism (i.e., identification of patients with PD without cortical involvement). npj parkinson’s disease 29 September 2022

Two-year clinical progression in focal and diffuse subtypes of Parkinson’s disease
These findings extend the classification of diffuse-malignant and mild-motor predominant subtypes to early-to-moderate PD and suggest that different pathophysiological mechanisms (focal versus diffuse cerebral propagation) may underlie distinct subtype classifications.  npj parkinson’s disease 17 February 2023

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Research

Physical frailty, genetic predisposition, and incident Parkinson Disease
Physical prefrailty and frailty were associated with incident PD independent of sociodemographic factors, lifestyles, multiple morbidities, and genetic background. These findings may have implications for the assessment and management of frailty for PD prevention. JAMA 13 March 2023

Neurologic dysfunction assessment in Parkinson Disease based on Fundus photographs using deep learning
This decision analytical model reveals amalgamative insights into the neurologic dysfunction among PD patients by providing information on how to apply a deep learning method to evaluate the association between the retina and brain. Study data may help clarify recent research findings regarding dopamine pathologic cascades between the retina and brain among patients with PD; however, further research is needed to expand the clinical implication of this algorithm. JAMA 1 March 2023

Widening the spectrum of risk factors, comorbidities, and prodromal features of Parkinson Disease
Results of this case-control study suggest that the associations found between PD and certain risk factors, comorbidities, and prodromal symptoms in a representative population may reflect possible early extrastriatal and extracerebral pathology of PD. This may be due to shared genetic risk with PD, medication exposure, or direct causation, or represent pathophysiologically relevant factors contributing to the pathogenesis of PD. JAMA 7 November 2022

Association of premenopausal Bilateral Oophorectomy with Parkinsonism and Parkinson Disease
In this study, premenopausal women who underwent bilateral oophorectomy before age 43 years had an increased risk of parkinsonism and PD compared with women who did not undergo bilateral oophorectomy. These findings suggest that a reduction in the practice of prophylactic bilateral oophorectomy in premenopausal women at average risk of ovarian cancer may have substantial benefit for reducing the risk of parkinsonism and PD. JAMA 26 October 2022

Six action steps to address global disparities in Parkinson Disease: A world health organization priority
The dramatic increase of PD cases in many world regions and the potential costs of PD-associated treatment will need to be addressed to prevent possible health service strain. Across the board, governments, multilateral agencies, donors, public health organizations, and health care professionals constitute potential stakeholders who are urged to make this a priority. JAMA 11 July 2022

Association of diet and physical activity with all-cause mortality among adults with Parkinson Disease
Results of this study showed that a healthy dietary pattern and an active lifestyle were associated with a lower rate of all-cause mortality among individuals with PD. Consuming a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity or exercise could be targeted to improve PD outcomes. JAMA 19 August 2022

Robot-assisted investigation of sensorimotor control in Parkinson's disease
The objective of the study was to investigate sensorimotor control (SMC) deficits in PD and how they affect the planning and correction of upper-limb motions. This was accomplished using a robotic manipulandum equipped with a virtual-reality system. Scientific reports 23 March 2023

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Treatment

Symptoms assessment and decision to treat patients with advanced Parkinson’s disease based on wearables data
Body-worn sensors (BWS) could provide valuable information in the management of Parkinson’s disease and support therapeutic decisions based on objective monitoring. To study this pivotal step and better understand how relevant information is extracted from BWS results and translated into treatment adaptation, eight neurologists examined eight virtual cases composed of basic patient profiles and their BWS monitoring results. npj parkinson’s disease 23 March 2023

Does spinal cord stimulation improve gait in Parkinson's disease: A comprehensive review
Highlights

  • The authors review the effect of spinal cord stimulation on gait in PD.
  • 25 studies with in total 103 participants were included.
  • The gait of most PD patients with concurrent pain complaints improved with spinal cord stimulation.
  • Higher-frequency stimulation seemed to be more effective in pain-free PD patients.
  • Well-controlled, double-blind studies are needed to explore the effect of spinal cord stimulation on gait in PD.

Parkinsonism & related disorders 23 February 2023

Management of psychiatric and cognitive complications in Parkinson’s disease
Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) such as affective disorders, psychosis, behavioral changes, and cognitive impairment are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, NPSs remain under-recognized and under-treated, often leading to adverse outcomes. Their epidemiology, presentation, risk factors, neural substrate, and management strategies are incompletely understood. While psychological and psychosocial factors may contribute, hallmark PD neuropathophysiological changes, plus the associations between exposure to dopaminergic medications and occurrence of some symptoms, suggest a neurobiological basis for many NPSs. A range of psychotropic medications, psychotherapeutic techniques, stimulation therapies, and other non-pharmacological treatments have been studied, are used clinically, and are beneficial for managing NPSs in PD. Appropriate management of NPSs is critical for comprehensive PD care, from recognizing their presentations and timing throughout the disease course, to the incorporation of different therapeutic strategies (ie, pharmacological and non-pharmacological) that utilize a multidisciplinary approach. BMJ 24 October 2022

Evaluation of Simvastatin as a disease-modifying treatment for patients with Parkinson Disease : A randomized clinical trial
In this randomized clinical trial, simvastatin was futile as a disease-modifying therapy in patients with PD of moderate severity, providing no evidence to support proceeding to a phase 3 trial. JAMA 31 October 2023

Effectiveness of acupuncture for anxiety among patients with Parkinson Disease : A randomized clinical trial
his study’s results suggest that acupuncture with clinical monitoring may alleviate anxiety of patients with Parkinson disease. JAMA 21 September 2022

The multimodal effect of circadian interventions in Parkinson’s disease: A narrative review 
Highlights

  • Non-pharmacological approaches targeting the circadian system are promising for motor and non-motor symptoms in persons with Parkinson's disease (PwP).
  • Melatonin, melatonin agonists and light therapy are associated with improvements in sleep, depression, and motor and other non-motor symptoms.
  • Before these strategies can be recommended, further well-designed studies, remain needed to establish the merits of circadian treatments in PD.

Parkinsonism & related disorders 2 February 2023 

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E-books

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E-Journals

This is just a sample of the e-journals the library subscribes to – you will need your library login

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Previous Awareness Weeks

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