Parkinson's

Treadmill improves movement in Parkinson’s

24/01/2010 | Treadmill training improves gait hypokinesia in Parkinson’s disease patients but it is not known how long these improvements last, a Cochrane review finds.

Earlier differential diagnosis of parkinsonism possible

11/01/2010 | Researchers have developed an image-based classification algorithm that has high specificity in distinguishing between parkinsonian disorders and could help in selecting treatment for early stage patients and identifying participants for clinical trials.

Support for Parkinson's-pesticide link

28/09/2009 | A study has strengthened the case for a link between pesticide exposure and Parkinson's disease.

Levodopa response key predictor

26/07/2009 | In Parkinson's disease, patients' best response to levodopa is the strongest predictor of the effectiveness of deep brain stimulation in treating motor fluctuations and dyskinesia, Australian experts say.

Deep brain stimulation helps Parkinson’s, but with risks

07/01/2009 | Patients with advanced Parkinson’s Disease who received deep brain stimulation improved their movement skills and quality of life compared with patients receiving medical therapy but were at higher risk of adverse events, according to a recent study.

Parkinson’s disease linked to vitamin D deficiency

16/10/2008 | Parkinson’s disease patients are more likely to be vitamin D deficient than patients with Alzheimer’s disease or healthy controls, a study shows, prompting researchers to call for further studies to assess the role vitamin D levels play in the risk of developing PD. Source: Evatt, M. Arch Neurol 2008;65:1348-1352.

Mediterranean diet protects against chronic diseases

25/09/2008 | A Mediterranean diet can protect against a number of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, a meta-analysis reports.

Pain may be nonmotor feature of PD

18/09/2008 | Pain may be a nonmotor feature of Parkinson disease, according to Italian researchers. Source: Defazio, G. et al. Arch Neuro 2008 ;65:1191-1194.

Agonist or levodopa for Parkinson disease?

15/08/2008 | Final follow-up data from the Parkinson's Disease Research Group of the United Kingdom trial shows no evidence of a long-term benefit or clinically relevant disease-modifying effect with initial dopamine agonist treatment. Source: Katzenschlager, R. et al. Neurology 2008; 474-480.

Suicide following deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s

10/08/2008 | A recent study reports a higher than expected frequency of suicide among patients undergoing subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for advanced Parkinson’s Disease. In light of this finding the researchers call for careful preoperative and postoperative psychiatric and behavioural follow-up. Source: Soulas, T  et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2008; 79: 952-954.