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Spirituality and religious beliefs are important for coping with medical conditions. The dopaminergic system is involved in reward behavior, and its dysfunction in Parkinson Disease (PD) raises questions about religiosity and spirituality in people with PD. This study examines the association between levels of spirituality and religiosity and the severity of PD motor and non-motor symptoms. The secondary aim investigates the perceived impact of PD diagnosis on spirituality and religiosity. This was a cross-sectional analysis of demographic, physical, mental, and spirituality and religiosity status in patients with PD recruited for the Health Outcomes Measurement (HOME) Study at the University of Maryland Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders Center, Baltimore, USA. Spirituality and religiosity were assessed using the Spiritual Well-being Scale, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Spiritual Religious and Personal Belief field-test instrument. The sample size was 85 PD patients. The mean age (standard deviation) was 65.5 (9.4) years and 67.1% were male. Higher levels of spirituality and religiosity were associated with younger age, sex (female), less education, religious affiliation (Christian), and mental health status. After adjusting for age, education, gender, race, marital status, religion, physical health, mental health, and comorbidity, only anxiety was associated with all of the spirituality/religiosity assessments. The majority of patients reported no change in their religious or spiritual beliefs following diagnosis. Greater spirituality and religiosity were associated with less anxiety. Also, younger women with PD showed higher levels of spirituality and religiosity. Longitudinal studies on more diverse populations are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical hardships are common in the United States due to rising medical expenditures and patient-financial responsibilities. Meanwhile, every year, billions of dollars are lost to penalties from early withdrawals from retirement accounts to pay for these medical bills. Prior research has been devoted to the interrelation between the medical hardships and medical affordability. Separately, attention has been paid to the leakage impact of the early withdrawals from retirement withdrawals. This study explores the linkage between medical hardships and early withdrawals from retirement accounts. We ask whether the medical hardships, such as unpaid medical debt, unfilled prescriptions due to cost, and medical-care avoidance due to cost, are associated with early withdrawals from retirement accounts. We then discuss the negative financial impact of early withdrawals from retirement accounts on retirement readiness. Lastly, we explore the potential impact of the vicious circle among the low-income, uninsured, medical hardship sufferers coupling to their early withdrawals from retirement accounts and retirement readiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Parkinson disease (PD) is a common complex neurodegenerative disorder with an underlying genetic etiology that has been difficult to dissect. Although some PD risk genes have been discovered, most of the underlying genetic etiology remains unknown. To further elucidate the genetic component, we have undertaken a genome-wide linkage screen in an isolated founder population of Amish living in the Midwestern United States. We performed tests for linkage and for association using a marker set of nearly 6000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Parametric multipoint linkage analysis generated a logarithm of the odds of linkage (LOD) score of 2.44 on chromosome 6 in the SYNE1 gene, approximately 8 Mbp from the PARK2 gene. In a different region on chromosome 6 (∼67 Mbp from PARK2) an association was found for rs4302647 (p < 4.0 × 10), which is not within 300 kb of any gene. While the association exceeds Bonferroni correction, it may yet represent a false positive due to the small sample size and the low minor allele frequency. The minor allele frequency in affecteds is 0.07 compared to 0.01 in unaffecteds. Taken together, these results support involvement of loci on chromosome 6 in the genetic etiology of PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study which assessed the effect of cerebellar pathology on speech and oral motor learning in the United States. Effects of practice on previously learned real-speech utterances in participants with cerebellar damage; Significance of the role of the cerebellum in motor learning; Methodology of the study; Results and discussions on the study; Conclusions.