scholarly journals Locus Coeruleus Degeneration Correlated with Levodopa Resistance in Parkinson’s Disease: A Retrospective Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Cheng Zhou ◽  
Tao Guo ◽  
JingJing Wu ◽  
Linbo Wang ◽  
Xueqin Bai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Network Synchronization ◽  
Clinical Issue ◽  
The Relationship

Background: The widely divergent responsiveness of Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients to levodopa is an important clinical issue because of its relationship with quality of life and disease prognosis. Preliminary animal experiments have suggested that degeneration of the locus coeruleus (LC) attenuates the efficacy of levodopa treatment. Objective: To explore the relationship between LC degeneration and levodopa responsiveness in PD patients in vivo. Methods: Neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NM-MRI), a good indicator of LC and substantia nigra (SN) degeneration, and levodopa challenge tests were conducted in 57 PD patients. Responsiveness to levodopa was evaluated by the rates of change of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale Part III score and somatomotor network synchronization calculated from resting-state functional MRI before and after levodopa administration. Next, we assessed the relationship between the contrast-to-noise ratio of LC (CNRLC) and levodopa responsiveness. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to rule out the potential influence of SN degeneration on levodopa responsiveness. Results: A significant positive correlation was found between CNRLC and the motor improvement after levodopa administration (R = 0.421, p = 0.004). CNRLC also correlated with improvement in somatomotor network synchronization (R = –0.323, p = 0.029). Furthermore, the relationship between CNRLC and levodopa responsiveness was independent of SN degeneration. Conclusion: LC degeneration might be an essential factor for levodopa resistance. LC evaluation using NM-MRI might be an alternative tool for predicting levodopa responsiveness and for helping to stratify patients into clinical trials aimed at improving the efficacy of levodopa.

scholarly journals Stereopsis in Drug Naïve Parkinson's Disease Patients

2011 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung-Hyun Kim ◽  
Ji-Hye Park ◽  
Yu Hwan Kim ◽  
Seong-Beom Koh
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Visual Perception ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Disease Rating ◽  
Drug Naïve ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Abnormal Visual

Background:Motor deficits associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) have been well described, yet little attention has been paid to non-motor symptoms, especially cortical visual dysfunction. We investigated stereopsis, as well as the relationship between stereopsis and other cognitive function, in a sample of PD patients.Methods:We used Titmus stereotest plates for assessing stereopsis. Fifty-nine subjects (29 PD patients and 30 normal controls) were included in this study. The included patients underwent a neurological examination, clinical rating scale and neuropsychological tests.Results:Drug naïve PD patients showed decreased stereopsis on the Titmus fly stereopsis test (Pearson χ2=23.80, p<0.001) compared to PD patients with normal stereopsis. The Hoehn-Yahr stages and Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor scores were significantly higher in patients with PD with abnormal stereopsis than in patients with PD with normal stereopsis (p=0.026; p=0.046). The frequency of abnormal visual perception/constructive function was greater in patients with PD with abnormal stereopsis compared to patients with PD with normal stereopsis (Pearson χ2=5.11, p=0.024).Conclusion:These findings suggest that stereopsis deficits and visual perception/constructive dysfunction are common in de novo PD patients.

Lack of Association of Locus Coeruleus Pathology with Orthostatic Hypotension in Parkinson’s Disease

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Qiang Tong ◽  
Liam Chen
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Orthostatic Hypotension ◽  
Locus Coeruleus ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Motor Symptom ◽  
Postmortem Brains ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Brain

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is a common non-motor symptom in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is linked with increased mortality risk among the elderly. Although the locus coeruleus (LC) is the major source of noradrenaline (NA) modulation in the brain, its role in the pathogenesis of OH in PD remains largely elusive. Here we examined 44 well characterized postmortem brains of PD patients and available clinical data to explore the relationship between OH and LC pathology in PD. Our results failed to indicate that the LC pathology as well as the substantia nigra pathology were robustly associated with the presence of OH in PD patients, suggesting targeting LC norepinephrinergic system alone may not be sufficient to treat OH in PD.

The Relationship Between Speech Characteristics and Motor Subtypes of Parkinson's Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2145-2154
Author(s):  
Katherine A. Brown ◽  
Kristie A. Spencer
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Pause Duration ◽  
Speech Sample ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Speech Characteristics ◽  
Disease Rating ◽  
Cepstral Peak Prominence ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine whether acoustic dysarthria characteristics align with overall motor profile in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Potential speech differences between tremor-dominant and non–tremor-dominant subtypes are theoretically motivated but empirically inconclusive. Method Twenty-seven individuals with dysarthria from PD provided a contextual speech sample. Participants were grouped into non–tremor-dominant ( n = 12) and tremor-dominant ( n = 15) motor subtypes according to the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale. Dependent speech variables included fundamental frequency range, average pause duration, cepstral peak prominence, stuttering dysfluencies, and maze dysfluencies. Results There were no significant differences between the speech of the tremor-dominant and non–tremor-dominant groups. High within-group variability existed across parameters and motor subtypes. Conclusion Speech characteristics across the areas of phonation, prosody, and fluency did not differ appreciably between PD motor subtypes.

Hypomimia May Influence the Facial Emotion Recognition Ability in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Yu-Han Chuang ◽  
Chun-Hsiang Tan ◽  
Hui-Chen Su ◽  
Chung-Yao Chien ◽  
Pi-Shan Sung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Social Functioning ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Social Function ◽  
Facial Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Hypomimia is a clinical feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Based on the embodied simulation theory, the impairment of facial mimicry may worsen facial emotion recognition; however, the empirical results are inconclusive. Objective: We aimed to explore the worsening of emotion recognition by hypomimia. We further explored the relationship between the hypomimia, emotion recognition, and social functioning. Methods: A total of 114 participants were recruited. The patients with PD and normal controls (NCs) were matched for demographic characteristics. All the participants completed the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Chinese Multi-modalities Emotion Recognition Test. In addition to the above tests, the patients were assessed with the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale and Parkinson’s Disease Social Functioning Scale (PDSFS). Results: Patients with PD with hypomimia had worse recognition of disgust than NCs (p = 0.018). The severity of hypomimia was predictive of the recognition of disgust (β= –0.275, p = 0.028). Facial emotion recognition was predictive of the PDSFS score of PD patients (β= 0.433, p = 0.001). We also found that recognizing disgust could mediate the relationship between hypomimia and the PDSFS score (β= 0.264, p = 0.045). Conclusion: Patients with hypomimia had the worst disgust facial recognition. Hypomimia may affect the social function of PD patients, which is related to recognizing the expression of disgust. Emotion recognition training may improve the social function of patients with PD.

Evaluation of Parkinson’s disease by neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging and 123I-FP-CIT SPECT

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 593-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keita Kuya ◽  
Toshihide Ogawa ◽  
Yuki Shinohara ◽  
Mana Ishibashi ◽  
Shinya Fujii ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta ◽  
Emission Computed Tomography ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Relationship

Background Both neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging (NmMRI) and 123I-FP-CIT single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (DaTSCAN) assist the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, there have been few studies investigating a correlation between them. Purpose To correlate the utility of NmMRI and DaTSCAN and to evaluate the relationship between both imaging findings and the Unified PD rating scale part III (UPDRS III) score for the diagnosis and management of PD. Material and Methods Seventeen patients with PD who underwent both NmMRI and DaTSCAN were included. We measured the volume of the neuromelanin-positive substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc volume) on NmMRI and measured the specific binding ratio (SBR) on DaTSCAN. The asymmetry index (AI) of the SNc volume and SBR were also calculated. We evaluated the relationship between the UPDRS III score and the SNc volume and SBR, respectively. Results The SNc volume showed a significant correlation with the SBR. The AIs of them also showed a significant correlation. Both the mean of the bilateral SBR and the mean of the bilateral SNc volume showed significant negative correlations with the UPDRS III score. However, the correlation between the SBR and the UPDRS III score was stronger than that between the SNc volume and the UPDRS III score. Conclusion Both NmMRI and DaTSCAN are helpful for PD diagnosis. However, we conclude that DaTSCAN is more suitable for the evaluation of the clinical motor severity and would be more useful for the management of PD patients than NmMRI.

scholarly journals Muscle strength and executive function as complementary parameters for the assessment of impairment in Parkinson's disease

2013 ◽  
Vol 71 (12) ◽  
pp. 948-954
Author(s):  
Dannyel Barbirato ◽  
Alessandro Carvalho ◽  
Narahyana Bom de Araujo ◽  
Jose Vicente Martins ◽  
Andrea Deslandes
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Motor Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Cognitive Capacity ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
The Relationship

Objective To evaluate the relationship between the quantitative results of functional and cognitive performance of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and disease severity; and to study the relationship between patients' functional and cognitive capacity and motor impairment (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale - UPDRS III). Method Twenty-nine subjects clinically diagnosed with PD were classified into three groups according to disease severity using the modified Hoehn and Yahr Scale (H&Y). They were submitted to functional (Senior Fitness Test) and neuropsychological tests. Stepwise regression analysis showed a significant association between H&Y and upper limb strength (r 2 =0.30; p=0.005) and executive function (r 2 =0.37; p=0.004). In relation to UPDRS III, there was a significant association between lower limb strength (r 2 =0.27; p=0.010) and global cognitive status (r 2 =0.24; p=0.024). Conclusion The implementation of simple tests of functional capacity associated with neuropsychological testing can help to assess disease severity and motor impairment, and can be used to monitor the response to treatment in PD.

scholarly journals What Determines Spontaneous Physical Activity in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease?

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1296
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Gorzkowska ◽  
Joanna Cholewa ◽  
Andrzej Małecki ◽  
Aleksandra Klimkowicz-Mrowiec ◽  
Jarosław Cholewa
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Explanatory Model ◽  
Yahr Scale ◽  
Severe Degree

Physical activity (PA) is a factor that may have an influence on the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The aim of this study was to identify the potential determinants of spontaneous PA in a PD patient group. A total of 134 PD patients aged 65.2 ± 9.2 years with a Hoehn–Yahr scale score ≤4 and a Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score ≥24 were examined. For the study’s purposes, the authors analyzed age, sex, education, history of PD, dopaminergic treatment, the severity of PD symptoms using Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), and Hoehn–Yahr scale. Additionally, all participants were evaluated through a set of scales for specific neuropsychiatric symptoms including depression, anxiety, apathy, fatigue, and sleep disorders. A linear regression analysis was used with backward elimination. In the total explanatory model, for 12% of the variability in activity (R2 = 0.125; F(16.133) = 2.185; p < 0.01), the significant predictor was starting therapy with the dopamine agonist (DA) (β= 0.420; t= 4.068; p = 0.000), which was associated with a longer duration of moderate PA. In the total explanatory model, for more than 13% of the variance in time spent sitting (R2 = 0.135; F(16.130) = 2.267; p < 0.01), the significant predictors were secondary education and the results of the UPDRS. The patients with secondary and vocational education, those starting treatment with DA and those with a less severe degree of Parkinson’s symptoms (UPDRS), spent less time sitting in a day. It is possible to identify determinants of spontaneous PA. It may elucidate consequences in terms of influence on modifiable conditions of PA and the proper approach to patients with unmodifiable PA factors.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease: association with caregiver distress and disease severity

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-739
Author(s):  
Wan-Chen Tsai ◽  
Hui-Chen Lin ◽  
Chiung-Chih Chang ◽  
Wen-Neng Chang ◽  
Chih-Cheng Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Disease Duration ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Caregiver Distress ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Inventory ◽  
Distress Scale

ABSTRACTObjectives:The condition of caregivers is important to the quality of care received by people with Parkinson’s disease (PD), especially at the late disease stages. This study addresses the distress placed on caregivers by participants’ neuropsychiatric symptoms at different stages of PD in TaiwanMethods:This prospective study enrolled 108 people with PD. All participants were examined with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI), and Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) scale. Caregiver distress was measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Caregiver Distress Scale (NPI-D). Statistical analysis was used to explore the PD-related factors that contribute to caregiver distress.Results:The mean follow-up interval in the 108 PD participants were 24.0 ± 10.2 months with no participant lost to follow-up due to death. NPI-distress (the sum of NPI caregiver distress scale across the 12 domains of the NPI) was positively correlated with NPI-sum (the total score across the 12 domains of the NPI) (r = 0.787, p < 0.001), CDR (r = 0.403, p < 0.001), UPRDS (r = 0.276, p = 0.004), and disease duration (r = 0.246, p = 0.002), but negatively correlated with CASI (r = −0.237, p = 0.043) and MMSE (r = −0.281, p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that only NPI-sum and disease duration were independently correlated with NPI-distress.Conclusion:The disease duration and NPI-sum are independent predictors of caregiver distress in Taiwanese populations with PD. Early detection and reduction of neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with PD can help decrease caregiver distress.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document