Top 5 Most-Read Parkinson Disease Articles of 2021

The top 5 most-read Parkinson disease (PD) stories of 2021 explored some of the new methods that researchers are investigating to help patients manage the disease, such as herbal tea, acupuncture, wearable tech, and cannabis.

5. Cannabis Shown to Relieve Parkinson Disease Symptoms

Survey findings revealed that using medical cannabis therapy in patients with PD was effective at reducing severity of symptoms. The results also showed a lack of knowledge on the different types and administration routes for cannabis use among patients. The survey took place in Germany, which approved medical cannabis as a PD therapy in 2017, and it was the largest study analyzing the view of patients on cannabis therapy as a PD therapy.

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4. Adjuvant Acupuncture Treatment Linked With Daily Living, Motor Function Improvement in Parkinson Disease

Patients with PD who were treated with acupuncture-related therapies in addition to conventional medication were found to exhibit significant improvements in motor function and experiences of daily living. However, the researchers said that the quality of their findings do warrant future research. The study reviewed a variety of different acupuncture methods, including traditional body needling, electroacupuncture, and those combined with moxibustion or medication, such as warm needling and hydroacupuncture.

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3. Apple Watch Effective in Monitoring Symptoms of Parkinson Disease

Investigators found that an Apple Watch designed to remotely monitor fluctuations of motor symptoms associated with PD was shown to match in-clinic evaluations of these symptoms and capture symptom changes in response to treatment for a majority of participants. The study, conducted by Apple, examined the efficacy of a new system called the Motor Fluctuations Monitor for Parkinson Disease that uses the accelerometer and gyroscope features in the Apple Watch to continuously track data changes in resting tremor and dyskinesia.

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2. Minor Hallucinations Common, Impactful in Parkinson Disease

A study showed that more than 1 in 3 people with PD experienced minor hallucinations, which are known to reduce health-related quality of life and lead to a greater sleep symptom burden. Although PD-related psychosis affects up to 75% of patients throughout the disease course, the researchers highlighted that prevalence of psychotic symptoms, including minor and major hallucinations along with delusions, are typically understated and have previously not been considered as key characteristics of the condition.

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1. Herbal Tea Consumption May Reduce Nonmotor Symptom Burden in Parkinson Disease

Researchers found that patients with idiopathic PD who were given Origanum majorana (marjoram) tea in combination with conventional medication led to significant improvement in depressive and nonmotor symptom burden compared with patients who were administered a placebo. Herbal medicine is known to contain active components that could be effective at treating or delaying neurodegenerative progression. However, the tea was not found to have a significant impact on improvement of motor symptoms.

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