Parkinson Disease

According to an abstract to be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 73rd Annual Meeting, gold may be better at improving balance and fall risk among patients with Parkinson disease than Tai Chi. In addition, patients are more likely to continue the golfing exercise.

Through heightened awareness and education on skin disorders in Parkinson disease (PD), neurologists and dermatologists can better recognize PD-related manifestations that are present on the skin and direct patients to the optimal source of care for these issues.

Among caregivers of patients with Parkinson disease experiencing psychosis, only 11% learned about the symptom from a physician, with communication challenges attributed to having to prioritize other issues in a limited appointment time.

Patients with levodopa-responsive and levodopa-resistant tremors exhibit differing preferences on the type of deep brain stimulation administered to control motor function in Parkinson disease.

Visual dysfunction among patients with Parkinson disease was associated with worse cognitive performance after 18 months and a higher risk of developing mild cognitive impairment compared with those with normal vision.

The abnormal clumping and accumulation of alpha synuclein has been shown to cause and spread dysfunction in cells, leading some to characterize Parkinson disease by proteinopathy or as a protein disease.

Fungi within the gut microbiome were not found to be a contributing factor to the initiation and progression of Parkinson disease, contrary to prior findings.

An Apple Watch designed to remotely monitor fluctuations of resting tremor and dyskinesia in persons with Parkinson disease was shown to match in-clinic evaluations of these symptoms and capture symptom changes in response to treatment for 94% of participants.

Skin disorders in Parkinson disease can be classified into 2 major groups: noniatrogenic, which are more prevalent in people with PD and not related to therapy, and iatrogenic, which are caused directly by antiparkinsonian therapies.

Use of drugs commonly used to treat enlarged prostate was associated with a reduced risk of developing Parkinson disease in men.

A recent survey found that patients experienced relief of certain motor and nonmotor symptoms of Parkinson disease from using cannabis.

Changes in blood pressure, percentage of red blood cells, and serum cholesterol levels were found to occur in patients with Parkinson disease before the onset of motor symptoms, suggesting potential biomarkers for early diagnosis and treatment.

Although Parkinson disease (PD) is often characterized as a motor disorder, the presence of nonmotor symptoms, such as skin disorders, is common and may provide insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PD.

A study on the effects of Mediterranean diets on Parkinson disease found a strong correlation between food intake and disease onset, while also suggesting a possible link between sex and diet results.

Focused ultrasound subthalamotomy was shown to improve motor features among patients with Parkinson disease who present with asymmetric symptom severity.

Defective metabolism of levodopa in the brain was associated with a decline in the drug's efficacy over time and the adverse effect of dyskinesia among patients with Parkinson disease.

A recent study explored how patients with Parkinson disease who suffer from constipation are more likely to have other nonmotor symptoms than patients without constipation.

Patients with newly diagnosed Parkinson disease (PD) who carried mutations in the Parkin gene were found to exhibit worse quality of life, longer disease duration, and an earlier age at disease onset than those with PD who did not carry the mutation.

The top 5 most-read Parkinson disease stories of 2020 on AJMC.com included the latest insights on treatments such as spinal cord stimulation and the role of dietary management, as well as implications of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Tomatoes metabolically engineered to be enriched by the antiparkinsonian drug levodopa may provide a novel, cost-effective source of the drug for patients with Parkinson disease.

Among patients with Parkinson disease, a positive history of essential tremor was found to be associated with slower progression of motor and nonmotor symptoms, with no impact observed on survival.

Patients with Parkinson disease were shown to be at greater risk of suicide than matched participants in the general population, according to study findings published last week.

Amid the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, patients with Parkinson disease reporting feelings of loneliness were found to experience greater severity of symptoms.

Eli Lilly & Co is set to acquire Prevail Therapeutics Inc for almost $1 billion; Pfizer’s coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine vials found to contain extra doses; a new treatment has been approved for patients with advanced breast cancer.

Researchers review the association between Parkinson disease and dermatologic disorders, as well as implications that this link may have on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying Parkinson disease.