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Aims: This study aims to investigate the efficacy of transcutaneous tibial nerve home stimulation for overactive bladder (OAB) in women with Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods: The current study is a prospective, randomized, double‐blind, sham‐controlled trial. Home intervention was carried out and assessments were conducted at a tertiary hospital in South Brazil. Women with PD and OAB symptoms were included in the study. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: (1) stimulation and (2) sham. Both groups underwent intervention at home for 12 weeks. Patients were evaluated at baseline and at 12 weeks (end of intervention), 30‐ and 90‐day follow‐up. The primary outcome was the mean reduction in the number of urgency incontinence episodes, and secondary outcomes included daytime and nighttime urinary frequency, urinary urgency episodes, use of pad (reported in a 24‐h bladder diary), OAB‐V8 and King's Health Questionnaire scores, and maintenance of symptom relief after discontinuation of the intervention. Results: In total, 30 consecutive patients completed the study (15/group). The stimulation group showed a reduction in nighttime urinary frequency (0.9 ± 0.6), urinary urgency (1.0 ± 1.2), urgency incontinence episodes (0.5 ± 0.6), use of pads (1.3 ± 1.2), and OAB‐V8 (1.3 ± 1.2) and King's Health Questionnaire scores. In a 30‐day and 90‐day follow‐up, 8 (53.3%) and 5 (33.3%) stimulation patients, respectively, reported full maintenance of symptom relief after discontinuation of the intervention. Stimulation patients presented a statistically significant improvement of symptoms as compared with sham patients (p =.001). Conclusions: Transcutaneous tibial nerve home stimulation can be used in clinical practice as an effective nonpharmacological resource for the reduction of OAB symptoms in women with PD, and the resulting relief seems to persist in the follow‐up (30 and 90 days). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Prognosis of PD is variable. Most studies show higher mortality rates in PD patients compared to the general population. Clinical and epidemiologic factors predicting mortality are poorly understood. Methods. Clinical and epidemiologic features including patient history and physical, functional, and cognitive scores were collected from a hospital-based cohort of PD patients using standardized protocols and clinical scales. Data on comorbidities and mortality were collected on follow-up. Results. During a mean follow-up of 4.71 years (range 1–10), 43 (20.9%) of the 206 patients died. Those who died had higher mean age at disease onset than those still alive at the last follow-up (67.7 years versus 56.3 years; p<0.01). In the univariate analysis, age at baseline was associated with decreased survival. In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards model, age at disease onset and race/ethnicity were predictors of mortality. Conclusions. Late age at disease onset and advanced chronological age are associated with decreased survival. Comorbidities and PD characteristics were not associated with decreased survival in our sample. Race/ethnicity was found in our study to be associated with increased hazard of mortality. Our findings indicate the importance of studying survival among different populations of PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To assess the presence of nonverbal and verbal apraxia in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and analyze the correlation between these conditions and patient age, education, duration of disease, and PD stage, as well as evaluate the correlation between the two types of apraxia and the frequency and types of verbal apraxic errors made by patients in the sample. Method. This was an observational prevalence study. The sample comprised 45 patients with PD seen at the Movement Disorders Clinic of the Clinical Hospital of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Patients were evaluated using the Speech Apraxia Assessment Protocol and PD stages were classified according to the Hoehn and Yahr scale. Results. The rate of nonverbal apraxia and verbal apraxia in the present sample was 24.4%. Verbal apraxia was significantly correlated with education (p≤0.05). The most frequent types of verbal apraxic errors were omissions (70.8%). The analysis of manner and place of articulation showed that most errors occurred during the production of trill (57.7%) and dentoalveolar (92%) phonemes, consecutively. Conclusion. Patients with PD presented nonverbal and verbal apraxia and made several verbal apraxic errors. Verbal apraxia was correlated with education levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing numbers of mutations causing monogenic forms of Parkinson's disease (PD) have been described, mostly among patients in Europe and North America. Since genetic architecture varies between different populations, studying the specific genetic profile of Brazilian patients is essential for improving genetic counseling and for selecting patients for clinical trials., Objective: We conducted a systematic review to identify genetic studies on Brazilian patients and to set a background for future studies on monogenic forms of PD in Brazil., Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science from inception to December 2019 using terms for "Parkinson's disease", "genetics" and "Brazil". Two independent reviewers extracted the data. For the genes LRRK2 and PRKN, the estimated prevalence was calculated for each study, and a meta-analysis was performed., Results: A total of 32 studies were included, comprising 94 Brazilian patients with PD with a causative mutation, identified from among 2,872 screened patients (3.2%). PRKN mutations were causative of PD in 48 patients out of 576 (8.3%). LRRK2 mutations were identified in 40 out of 1,556 patients (2.5%), and p.G2019S was the most common mutation (2.2%)., Conclusions: PRKN is the most common autosomal recessive cause of PD, and LRRK2 is the most common autosomal dominant form. We observed that there was a lack of robust epidemiological studies on PD genetics in Brazil and, especially, that the diversity of Brazil's population had not been considered.

Three patients with eosinophilic meningitis (EoM) were investigated in two hospitals in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. These patients had a common exposure after the ingestion of raw mollusks in a religious ritual. Two of them had an uncommon presentation with intense lower distal extremities pain and small fiber neuropathy as defined by an electroneuromyography (ENMG) study. All three patients were positive for Angiostrongylus cantonensis serology and recovered after antihelminthic and anti-inflammatory treatment. Increased awareness of A. cantonensis infection is important to avoid new infections and to improved recognition and handling of cerebral angiostrongyliasis., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To translate and linguistically and culturally adapt to Brazilian Portuguese, and verify the reliability and validity of the Radboud Oral Motor Inventory for Parkinson's Disease (ROMP)., Methods: The ROMP was translated and retranslated, and the instrument reliability was verified by analyzing the internal consistency and the reproducibility of the intra-examiner retest. The final version was applied to 27 participants with Parkinson's disease., Results: Internal consistency was 0.99 for the total ROMP and 0.96 to 0.99 for the three domains. Intraclass correlation coefficients for reproducibility were 0.99 for the total ROMP and 0.93 to 0.99 for the subscales. The ROMP and its subscales correlated substantially with the Likert-type scale, as well as with the unified Parkinson's disease rating scale II and III items., Conclusion: The linguistic and cultural equivalence of the ROMP in Brazilian Portuguese is now available, with excellent reliability and validity.

Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale (PDSS) is a specific scale for the assessment of sleep disturbances in subjects with Parkinson's Disease (PD). This cross-sectional study set out to validate the PDSS in a Brazilian Portuguese Version (PDSS-BR). Ninety-five patients with PD participated in the study; their PD symptoms were evaluated by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS sections I-IV) and Hoehn and Yahr scale. Patients completed Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and PDSS-BR. PDSS-BR internal consistency was satisfactory (Cronbach's alpha: 0.82; all PDSS-BR items were significantly and positively associated with total score). Test-retest reliability for total PDSS-BR score was 0.94. PDSS-BR score was highly correlated with sleep PSQI scale (r(s) = -0.63; p < 0.0001) and moderately with ESS (r(s) = -0.32; p < 0.001) and UPDRS sections I (r(s) = -0.38; p < 0.0001) and II (r(s) = -0.36; p < 0.0001) and BDI (r(s) = -0.55; p < 0.0001). Depressive symptoms, as determined by the BDI, were associated with significantly worse quality of nocturnal sleep, as measured by the PDSS-BR. The psychometric attributes of the PDSS-BR were satisfactory and consistent with those of previous studies. In summary, PDSS-BR can be useful for clinical and research purposes in Brazil.

Objective: Parkinson's disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor disabilities and increasing dependence on others for daily life activities with consequent impact on patients' and caregivers' quality of life., Method: A cross-sectional study was performed in which quality of life was assessed by the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire in 21 patients with Parkinson's disease and their respective caregivers., Results: Significant differences between patients and caregivers were found in physical (p < 0.001) and psychological (p = 0.002) domains. In the Parkinson's disease group there was a significant inverse correlation between the psychological domain and duration of disease (p = 0.01), as well as between social domain and severity of disease (p = 0.001). There was a positive correlation between physical domain scores and number of people living in the same house (p = 0.02). The only significant finding in the group of caregivers was an inverse correlation between the social domain and the patients' age (p = 0.04)., Conclusion: Duration, severity of the disease and the number of people living in the same house were the most important predictors of quality of life of Parkinson's disease patients. The age of the patients was the only significant predictor found in the caregivers' quality of life. In order to complement our findings, further short-form questionnaires should be validated for Brazilian samples of Parkinson's disease.