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Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2022 May 5;99:43-46. Epub 2022 May 5.

Department of Neurology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Neurodegenerative and Demented Disorders, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Home Medical Care System Based on Information and Communication Technology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Drug Development for Parkinson's Disease, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Patient Reported Outcome Based Integrated Data Analysis in Neurological Disorders, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Department of Research and Therapeutics for Movement Disorders, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Neurodegenerative Disorders Collaborative Laboratory, RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Saitama, Japan.

Introduction: Approaches for objectively measuring facial expressions and speech may enhance clinical and research evaluation in telemedicine, which is widely employed for Parkinson's disease (PD). This study aimed to assess the feasibility and efficacy of using an artificial intelligence-based chatbot to improve smile and speech in PD. Further, we explored the potential predictive value of objective face and speech parameters for motor symptoms, cognition, and mood. Read More

Mov Disord 2022 May 21. Epub 2022 May 21.

Department of Neurology and Movement Disorder Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.

Background: The influence of peripheral inflammation on nonmotor symptoms (NMSs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) remains unclear.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore whether serum inflammatory marker profiles are associated with the progression of NMSs in early PD.

Methods: We included 45 patients with early PD and 20 healthy control subjects. Read More

Epileptic Disord 2022 Apr;24(2):249-273

Danish Epilepsy Centre, Dianalund, Denmark.

Although epilepsy as a comorbidity in neurodegenerative disorders is increasingly recognized, its incidence is still underestimated and the features of epilepsy in the different neurodegenerative conditions are still poorly defined. Improved health care, resulting in increased longevity, will unavoidably lead to an increment of epilepsy cases in the elderly. Thus, it is conceivable to expect that neurologists will have to deal with these comorbid conditions to a growing extent in the future. Read More

PM R 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Department of Physical Therapy, Fayetteville, AR.

Introduction: Due to COVID-19, many health/wellness programs transitioned from in-person to virtual. This mixed methods study aims to explore older adults with Parkinson's disease (PD) perceptions of in-person versus virtual-based Parkinson's-specific exercise classes (PDEx).

Objective: Explore people with Parkinson's disease (PwPD) experiences, perceptions, and perceived impact of participating in and transitioning from in-person to virtual PDEx. Read More

Ageing Res Rev 2022 May 17:101648. Epub 2022 May 17.

Centre for Genetic Epidemiology, Institute for Clinical Epidemiology and Applied Biometry, University of Tübingen, DE-72076 Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address:

After fifteen years of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in Parkinson's disease (PD), what have we learned? Addressing this question will help catalogue the progress made towards elucidating disease mechanisms, improving the clinical utility of the identified loci, and envisioning how we can harness the strides to develop translational GWAS strategies. Here we review the advances of PD GWAS made to date while critically addressing the challenges and opportunities for next-generation GWAS. Thus, deciphering the missing heritability in underrepresented populations is currently at the reach of hand for a truly comprehensive understanding of the genetics of PD across the different ethnicities. Read More

Sleep Med 2022 Apr 19;96:42-49. Epub 2022 Apr 19.

School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China. Electronic address:

Objective: Sleep disturbances have been linked with Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in observational studies, and the comorbidity of PD and ALS has been reported in clinical case reports, but the causalities remain unclear. This study aims to examine bidirectional causal relationships between sleep traits, PD and ALS.

Methods: Bidirectional two sample Mendelian randomisation (MR) analyses were conducted, with data from individuals of mainly European ancestry. Read More

Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2022 May 13;99:33-41. Epub 2022 May 13.

Parkinson's Disease & Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Clínic I Universitari de Barcelona; IDIBAPS, CIBERNED (CB06/05/0018-ISCIII), ERN-RND, Institut Clínic de Neurociències (Maria de Maeztu Excellence Centre), Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain; Lab of Parkinson Disease and Other Neurodegenerative Movement Disorders: Clinical and Experimental Research; Department of Neurology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Institut D'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

Introduction: Differential diagnosis between Parkinson's disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonisms (APs: multiple system atrophy[MSA], progressive supranuclear palsy[PSP], corticobasal degeneration[CBD]) remains challenging. Lately, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) studies of neurofilament light-chain (NFL) and RT-QuIC of alpha-synuclein (α-SYN) have shown promise, but data on their combination with MRI measures is lacking.

Objective: (1) to assess the combined diagnostic ability of CSF RT-QuIC α-SYN, CSF NFL and midbrain/pons MRI planimetry in degenerative parkinsonisms; (2) to evaluate if biomarker-signatures relate to clinical diagnoses and whether or not unexpected findings can guide diagnostic revision. Read More

J Neurosci Res 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), Orbassano, Italy.

The transcription factor NURR1 is essential to the generation and maintenance of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons and its deregulation is involved in the development of dopamine (DA)-associated brain disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). The old male NURR1 heterozygous knockout (NURR1-KO) mouse has been proposed as a model of PD due to its altered motor performance that was, however, not confirmed in a subsequent study. Based on these controversial results, we explored the effects of the NURR1 deficiency on locomotor activity, motor coordination, brain and plasma DA levels, blood pressure and heart rate of old mice, also focusing on the potential effect of sex. Read More

Ann Neurol 2022 May 20. Epub 2022 May 20.

Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.

Objective: Using a multi-cohort, Discovery-Replication-Validation design, we sought new plasma biomarkers that predict which PD individuals will experience cognitive decline.

Methods: In 108 Discovery Cohort PD individuals and 83 Replication Cohort PD individuals, we measured 940 plasma proteins on an aptamer-based platform. Using proteins associating with subsequent cognitive decline in both cohorts, we trained a logistic regression model to predict which PD patients showed fast (>=1 point drop/year on Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)) vs. Read More

Front Neurol 2022 3;13:879250. Epub 2022 May 3.

Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety, efficiency, and cost expenditure of remote programming in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) after deep brain stimulation (DBS).

Methods: A total of 74 patients who underwent DBS at the Department of Neurosurgery, Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University between June 2018 and June 2020 were enrolled in this study. There were 27 patients in the remote programming group and 47 patients in the outpatient programming group. Read More

eNeurologicalSci 2022 Jun 5;27:100400. Epub 2022 May 5.

Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, the Netherlands.

Background: Recent studies have revealed the importance of the gut brain axis in the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). It has also been suggested that the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the vagus nerve can be used in the diagnosis of PD. Here, we hypothesize that the CSA of the vagus nerve is decreased in PD patients compared to control participants. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2022 Apr 26;22(9). Epub 2022 Apr 26.

Department of Functional Biology and Health Sciences, Faculty of Physiotherapy, University of Vigo, 36005 Pontevedra, Spain.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurological disorder that usually appears in the 6th decade of life and affects up to 2% of older people (65 years and older). Its therapeutic management is complex and includes not only pharmacological therapies but also physiotherapy. Exercise therapies have shown good results in disease management in terms of rehabilitation and/or maintenance of physical and functional capacities, which is important in PD. Read More

Mol Neurobiol 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, National Health Commission of China (NHC), Institute of Laboratory Animal Science, Peking Union Medicine College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100021, China.

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) plays an anti-inflammatory role in the cardiovascular system. Levels of serum PON1 and polymorphisms in this gene were linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD), but its function in the neuroimmune system and AD is not clear. To address this issue, we used Pon1 knockout rats previously generated by our lab to investigate the role of Pon1 in microglia. Read More

Brain Nerve 2022 May;74(5):468-473

National Hospital Organization, Sendai-Nishitaga Hospital.

The pathogenesis of pain related to dyskinesia in Parkinson disease is thought to be based on hypersensitivity to pain. To relieve symptoms, it is essential to reduce dyskinesia and alleviate symptoms. Frequent small doses of levodopa, dopamine agonists, MAOB inhibitors, and amantadine are effective. Read More

Brain Nerve 2022 May;74(5):462-467

Department of Neurology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine.

Disabling painful dystonia is one of the most burdensome symptoms that a patient with Parkinson's disease (PD) experiences. How do we treat disabling painful dystonia in PD? In this review, classification and mechanisms of pain and their management in PD especially for dystonia-related pain are described. Moreover, painful bilateral dystonic foot spasm is also an important development to be considered in the early stage of the disease. Read More

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Bionics Institute, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Introduction: Selecting the ideal contact to apply subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) in Parkinson's disease is time-consuming and reliant on clinical expertise. The aim of this cohort study was to assess whether neuronal signals (beta oscillations and evoked resonant neural activity (ERNA)), and the anatomical location of electrodes, can predict the contacts selected by long-term, expert-clinician programming of STN-DBS.

Methods: We evaluated 92 hemispheres of 47 patients with Parkinson's disease receiving chronic monopolar and bipolar STN-DBS. Read More

J Clin Neurol 2022 May;18(3):259-270

Department of Neurology, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Parkinsonism is a clinical syndrome presenting with bradykinesia, tremor, rigidity, and postural instability. Nonmotor symptoms have recently been included in the parkinsonian syndrome, which was traditionally associated with motor symptoms only. Various pathologically distinct and unrelated diseases have the same clinical manifestations as parkinsonism or parkinsonian syndrome. Read More

Neurobiol Dis 2022 May 16;170:105768. Epub 2022 May 16.

Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA. Electronic address:

Perturbations of the endolysosomal pathway have been suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specifically, VPS35 and the retromer complex play an important role in the endolysosomal system and are implicated in the pathophysiology of these diseases. A single missense mutation in VPS35, Asp620Asn (D620N), is known to cause late-onset, autosomal dominant familial PD. Read More

Parkinsonism Relat Disord 2022 May 12;99:30-32. Epub 2022 May 12.

UTMove, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Mc Govern Medical School, USA.

Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Engin 2022 May 19:1-13. Epub 2022 May 19.

School of Computer Science and Engineering, VIT-AP University, Amaravathi, India.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common progressive neurodegenerative disorder that occurs due to corrosion of the substantianigra, located in the thalamic region of the human brain, and is responsible for the transmission of neural signals throughout the human body using brain chemical, termed as "dopamine." Diagnosis of PD is difficult, as it is often affected by the characteristics of the medical data of the patients, which include the presence of various indicators, imbalance cases of patients' data records, similar cases of healthy/affected persons, etc. Hence, sometimes the process of diagnosis may also be affected by human error. Read More

Mov Disord 2022 May;37(5):1117-1118

Neurology Unit, Neuromotor & Rehabilitation Department, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy.

Mov Disord 2022 May;37(5):883-885

Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Eur J Neurol 2022 May 19. Epub 2022 May 19.

Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences - MRI Research Center Vanvitelli-FISM, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy.

Background: Although disabling fatigue is common in Parkinson's disease (PD), available consensus-based diagnostic criteria have not yet been empirically validated. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinimetric properties of the criteria.

Methods: A sample of outpatients with PD was evaluated for demographic, clinical, behavioural, and cognitive features. Read More

Mov Disord Clin Pract 2022 May 29;9(4):458-467. Epub 2022 Apr 29.

Movement Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center Tel Aviv Israel.

Background: As Parkinson's disease (PD) progresses, response to oral medications decreases and motor complications appear. Timely intervention has been demonstrated as effective in reducing symptoms. However, current instruments for the identification of these patients are often complicated and inadequate. Read More

Mov Disord Clin Pract 2022 May 15;9(4):558-559. Epub 2022 Apr 15.

Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease, Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network Toronto Ontario Canada.

Behav Neurol 2022 9;2022:1213393. Epub 2022 May 9.

Institute of Biomedical Research Cadiz (INIBICA), Cadiz, Spain.

Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are a common and potentially serious manifestation of Parkinson's disease (PD) but are frequently overlooked in favor of a focus on motor symptomatology. Here, we conducted a literature review of the prevalence and type of NPS experienced by PD patients with a clinically defined course of their illness.

Methods: We identified reports of NPS in patients with PD and mean disease duration over 3 years. Read More

Comput Intell Neurosci 2022 9;2022:3287068. Epub 2022 May 9.

School of Chinese Language and Literature, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China.

To investigate the effectiveness of identifying patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) from speech signals, various acoustic parameters including prosodic and segmental features are extracted from speech and then the random forest classification (RF) algorithm based on these acoustic parameters is applied to diagnose early-stage PD patients. To validate the proposed method of RF algorithm in early-stage PD identification, this study compares the accuracy rate of RF with that of neurologists' judgments based on auditory test outcomes, and the results clearly show the superiority of the proposed method over its rival. Random forest algorithm based on speech can improve the accuracy of patients' identification, which provides an efficient auxiliary method in the early diagnosis of PD patients. Read More

Parkinsons Dis 2022 9;2022:5535826. Epub 2022 May 9.

University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Department of Neurology, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Background: The American Academy of Neurology Parkinson Disease (PD) quality measures include an annual diagnostic review.

Objective: To investigate the frequency and pattern of changes in diagnoses between PD and other causes of parkinsonism.

Methods: This prospective longitudinal cohort study included consented patients diagnosed with PD at least once and a minimum of two times at the Movement Disorders Center between 2002 and 2017. Read More

Eur J Pharmacol 2022 May 15:175029. Epub 2022 May 15.

Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, 450046, Henan province, China; Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, No. 382 Wuyi Road, Taiyuan, 030001, Shanxi province, China. Electronic address:

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, and no treatment is available to stop its progression. Studies have shown that the colonic pathology of PD precedes that of the brain. The 1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD mouse model and the human A53T α-synuclein (α-syn) transgenic PD mouse model show colonic pathology and intestinal dopaminergic neuronal damage, which is comparable to the intestinal pathology of PD. Read More

Mov Disord Clin Pract 2022 May 28;9(4):516-521. Epub 2022 Mar 28.

Parkinson and Movement Disorders Unit, Centre for Rare Neurological Diseases (ERN-RND), Department of Neuroscience University of Padua Padua Italy.

Background: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a complex acquired autoimmune disease with a wide clinical spectrum. Chorea is a rare neurological manifestation of APS.

Cases: We report two elderly patients with APS-related chorea in whom functional imaging (18F-FDG positron emission tomography, FDG-PET) supported the diagnosis and compare our findings with existing literature. Read More