Parkinson Disease

In a recent paper, researchers described a new metric called the Parkinson’s Disease Social Functioning Scale (PDSFS) that aims to measure social functioning in patients with this disease.

Mindfulness training may boost resilience and lessen morbidities for people with Parkinson disease, compared with conventional exercise.

Trouble with balance and holding objects above one's head were just a few of the problems reported by patients 3 years before they received a formal Parkinson disease diagnosis, according to a recent study.

Compared with patients using other antipsychotics, patients with Parkinson disease using pimavanserin had lower death rates.

The top 5 most-read articles in Parkinson disease for 2022 reviewed interventions for nonmotor symptoms, the health-related impact of exercise and diet, and more.

Incidence of Parkinson disease in North America was 50% higher than previous estimates of 60,000 diagnoses annually.

The combination therapy of levodopa and benserazide was associated with a significantly reduced risk of lower urinary tract infections, particularly among women, when compared with another Parkinson disease combination therapy of levodopa and carbidopa.

Patients with Parkinson disease who adhered to Mediterranean (MEDI) and Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diets were associated with fewer patient-reported symptoms over time, in which the MIND diet showed greater reductions in symptom severity compared with MEDI.

Frequency of orthostatic hypotension among Ethiopian patients with Parkinson disease (PD) was shown to be higher than that among healthy controls, with a higher proportion of constipation, urinary urgency, and nocturia symptoms reported in those with PD.

People with a gastrointestinal biopsy of normal mucosa or nonspecific inflammation were shown to be at increased risk of Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease.

Findings of a meta-analysis show that pioglitazone use with a dose duration greater than 438 days was associated with a significantly reduced risk of Parkinson disease in patients with diabetes.

Climate change and exposure to airborne pollutants was associated with incidence and exacerbation of several neurologic diseases, including migraine, dementia, and Parkinson disease.

Patients with intermediate and mild Parkinson disease, defined by a Hoehn & Yahr stage of 3 or less, experienced an additional deterioration in motor function with simvastatin compared with placebo while not taking medication at 24 months.

Several known risk factors and prodromal features were associated with Parkinson disease, including traumatic brain injury and alcohol misuse, along with other comorbidities such as skin and gastrointestinal disorders.

A poster presented at Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2022 shows that patients with intermediate Parkinson disease place a significant resource burden on the US health care system in regard to treatment, emergency department visits, and admissions to rehabilitation centers.

Patients with young-onset Parkinson disease experience significant emotional burden that is exacerbated by unmet educational needs.

Informal caregivers of people with Parkinson disease residing in the United Kingdom discussed challenges faced in providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic, which included risk of infection, lack of access to care, and the impact of lockdown on engaging in activities of daily living.

Patients with Parkinson disease (PD) from Finland reported a higher incidence rate of cataract surgeries prior to PD diagnosis vs those without the condition, potentially due to other eye diseases and prodromal symptoms of PD.

Vestibular dysfunction was shown to be a determinant of imbalance in Parkinson disease independent from visual and somatosensory processing changes and nigrostriatal dopaminergic losses.

Patients with Parkinson disease are significantly more likely to experience fractures than the general population, with severity of the disease shown to be linearly associated with risk.

Location, cost, and transportation were cited as important factors regarding adherence and satisfaction with community-based exercise programs among patients with Parkinson disease.

Adherence to 8-week square-stepping exercise training among patients with Parkinson disease was associated with significant improvement of executive functioning, as well as cognitive functioning for those with mild cognitive impairment.

Patients with Parkinson disease reported significant reductions in anxiety when provided with acupuncture vs sham acupuncture for 8 weeks.

Patients with Parkinson disease demonstrated significant reduction in depressive symptoms with citalopram and pramipexole, with pramipexole showing slightly more benefit in improving quality of life.

Initiation of antipsychotics was nearly 3 times more common in patients with Parkinson disease vs controls, with the incidence rate found to increase approximately 4 years prior to PD diagnosis.