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2024 NOV 2 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- Fresh data on Parkinson's disease are presented in a new report. According [...]

2024 APR 20 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- Investigators publish new report on Parkinson's disease. According to news reporting originating [...]

2022 MAR 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- New research on Drugs and Therapies is the subject of a report. [...]

Background. The newly developed Brief-Balance Evaluation System Test (Brief-BESTest) may be useful for measuring balance and predicting falls in individuals with Parkinson disease (PD). Objectives. The purposes of this study were: (1) to describe the balance performance of those with PD using the Brief-BESTest, (2) to determine the relationships among the scores derived from the 3 versions of the BESTest (ie, full BESTest, Mini-BESTest, and Brief-BESTest), and (3) to compare the accuracy of the Brief-BESTest with that of the Mini-BESTest and BESTest in identifying recurrent fallers among people with PD. Design. This was a prospective cohort study. Methods. Eighty participants with PD completed a baseline balance assessment. All participants reported a fall history during the previous 6 months. Fall history was again collected 6 months (n=51) and 12 months (n=40) later. Results. At baseline, participants had varying levels of balance impairment, and Brief-BESTest scores were significantly correlated with Mini-BESTest (r=.94, P Limitations. The sample included primarily individuals with mild to moderate PD. Also, there was a moderate dropout rate at 6 and 12 months. Conclusions. All versions of the BESTest were reasonably accurate in identifying future recurrent fallers, especially during the 6 months following assessment. Clinicians can reasonably rely on the Brief-BESTest for predicting falls, particularly when time and equipment constraints are of concern., Falls are common among people with Parkinson disease (PD). A retrospective study demonstrated that 38.3% of individuals with PD fell since being diagnosed and 67% of fallers fell more than [...]

Background. Previous studies have shown that people with Parkinson disease (PD) have difficulty performing the sit-to-stand task because of mobility and stability-related impairments. Despite its importance, literature on the quantification of dynamic stability control in people with PD during this task is limited. Objective. The study objective was to examine differences in dynamic stability control between people with PD and people who were healthy and the extent to which externally cued training could improve such control during the sit-to-stand task in people with PD. Design. This was a quasi-experimental controlled trial. Methods. The performance of 21 people with PD was compared with that of 12 older adults who dwelled in the community. People with PD were randomly assigned to 2 groups: a group that did not receive training and a group that received audio-visually cued training (3 times per week for 4 weeks) for speeding up performance on the sit-to-stand task. Outcome measures recorded at baseline and after 4 weeks included center-of-mass position, center-of-mass velocity, and stability against either backward or forward balance loss (backward or forward stability) at seat-off and movement termination. Results. Compared with people who were healthy, people with PD had greater backward stability resulting from a more anterior center-of-mass position at seat-off. This feature, combined with decreased forward stability at movement termination, increased their risk of forward balance loss at movement termination. After training, people with PD achieved greater backward stability through increased forward center-of-mass velocity at seat-off and reduced the likelihood of forward balance loss at movement termination through a posterior shift in the center-of-mass position. Limitations. The study applied stability limits derived from adults who were healthy to people with PD, and the suggested impact on the risk of balance loss and falling is based on these theoretical stability limits. Conclusions. For people with PD, postural stability against backward balance loss at task initiation was increased at the expense of possible forward balance loss at task termination. Task-specific training with preparatory audiovisual cues resulted in improved overall dynamic stability against both forward and backward balance loss., The United States has the highest prevalence of Parkinson disease (PD), with a range of 107 to 329 people with PD per 100,000 people, manifested more commonly after 65 years [...]

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an FDA-approved surgical treatment option for select patients with tremor, Parkinson disease, dystonia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, all of which are commonly treated by primary care [...]

Background and Purpose Even early in Parkinson disease (PD), individuals have reduced economy of movement. In this case report, the effects of endurance exercise training are examined on walking economy and other measures for 3 individuals in early and middle stages of PD. Patients The patients were 1 woman and 2 men with PD, aged 52 to 72 years, classified at Hoehn and Yahr stages 2 to 2.5. Intervention Each patient completed 4 months of supervised endurance exercise training and 12 months of home exercise, with monthly clinic follow-up sessions. Strategies were included to enhance adherence to exercise. Outcomes The main outcome measure was economy of movement (rate of oxygen consumption during gait) measured at 4 treadmill speeds. Secondary outcome measures included the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Continuous-Scale Physical Functional Performance Test (CS-PFP), Functional Reach Test (FRT), and Functional Axial Rotation Test (FAR). Economy of movement improved for all 3 patients after 4 months of supervised exercise and remained above baseline at 16 months. Two patients also had scores that were above baseline for UPDRS total score, CS-PFP, FRT, and FAR, even at 16 months. Discussion and Conclusions Evidence from these 3 individuals suggests that gains may occur with a treadmill training program that is coupled with specific strategies to enhance adherence to exercise., Parkinson disease (PD) is a potentially disabling condition resulting from degeneration of the substantia nigra with cardinal signs of rigidity, bradykinesia, tremor, and postural instability. (1-3) As the disease progresses, [...]

Sham surgery is a controversial and rarely used component of randomised clinical trials evaluating surgical interventions. The recent use of sham surgery in trials evaluating efficacy of intracerebral fetal tissue grafts in Parkinson's disease has highlighted the ethical concerns associated with sham surgery controls. Macklin, and Dekkers and Boer argue vigorously against use of sham surgery controls. Macklin presents a broad argument against sham surgery controls while Dekkers and Boer present a narrower argument that sham surgery is unnecessary in the specific setting of fetal tissue engraftment for Parkinson's disease. I defend sham surgery controls against both these criticisms. Appropriate clinical trial design, sometimes including sham surgery, is needed to ensure that false positive trial results do not occur and endanger public safely. Results of a completed trial of fetal tissue grafting for Parkinson's disease are used to illustrate the potential benefits of, and problems associated with, sham surgery controls. Sham surgery controls, however, should be employed only when absolutely necessary. I suggest criteria for appropriate use of sham surgery controls., Sham surgery (surgical placebo) in clinical trials is a rare event. (1-4) It is easy to understand the infrequent use of sham surgery controls and the discomfort aroused by their [...]

News Reports Question Value of Organic Food. On September 4, 2012, a story was widely circulated in the media claiming that there is little or no health advantage to eating [...]

Neurorehabilitation is a relatively recent concept and did not become an issue until after World War II. Many of the casualties of that war who suffered spinal cord and head [...]

AT A dozen centres across Europe and North America, doctors are busy drilling holes in skulls, planting seeds in brains, and watching closely for the green shoots of physical and [...]

According to the authors of recent research published in the journal Brain, 'There is a lack of consensus about the effects of the type of menopause (surgical or natural) and [...]

As usual, the Senate Appropriations Committee failed to include money for the Neurotoxin Exposure Treatment Research Program in the Defense Department budget. The House has approved $26.5 million for the [...]