Vowel Articulation Dynamic Stability Related to Parkinson’s Disease Rating Features: Male Dataset

Neurodegenerative pathologies as Parkinson’s Disease (PD) show important distortions in speech, affecting fluency, prosody, articulation and phonation. Classically, measurements based on articulation gestures altering formant positions, as the Vocal Space Area (VSA) or the Formant Centralization Ratio (FCR) have been proposed to measure speech distortion, but these markers are based mainly on static positions of sustained vowels. The present study introduces a measurement based on the mutual information distance among probability density functions of kinematic correlates derived from formant dynamics. An absolute kinematic velocity associated to the position of the jaw and tongue articulation gestures is estimated and modeled statistically. The distribution of this feature may differentiate PD patients from normative speakers during sustained vowel emission. The study is based on a limited database of 53 male PD patients, contrasted to a very selected and stable set of eight normative speakers. In this sense, distances based on Kullback–Leibler divergence seem to be sensitive to PD articulation instability. Correlation studies show statistically relevant relationship between information contents based on articulation instability to certain motor and nonmotor clinical scores, such as freezing of gait, or sleep disorders. Remarkably, one of the statistically relevant correlations point out to the time interval passed since the first diagnostic. These results stress the need of defining scoring scales specifically designed for speech disability estimation and monitoring methodologies in degenerative diseases of neuromotor origin.

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Intestinal Levodopa/Carbidopa Infusion as a Therapeutic Option for Unresponsive Freezing of Gait after Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1155/2020/1627264 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Belén González-Herrero ◽

Serge Jauma-Classen ◽

Roser Gómez-Llopico ◽

Gerard Plans ◽

Matilde Calopa

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Deep Brain Stimulation ◽

Subthalamic Nucleus ◽

Brain Stimulation ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Therapeutic Option ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Disease Rating ◽

Deep Brain

Background. Treatment of freezing of gait (FOG) is always challenging because of its unpredictable nature and multifactorial physiopathology. Intestinal levodopa infusion has been proposed in recent years as a valuable option for its improvement. FOG in Parkinson’s disease (PD) can appear after deep brain stimulation in patients who never had gait symptoms. Objective. To study the effects of intestinal levodopa/carbidopa infusion in unresponsive-FOG that appears in PD patients treated with subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation. Methods. We retrospectively collected and analyzed demographic, clinical, and therapeutic data from five PD patients treated with subthalamic nucleus stimulation who developed unresponsive-FOG and received intestinal levodopa/carbidopa infusion as an alternative therapy. FOG was measured based on scores in item 14 of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale before and after intestinal levodopa infusion. Results. Administration of intestinal levodopa caused improvement of FOG in the “ON” state in four patients (80%) by 2 or more points in item 14 of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. The improvement was maintained for at least 12 months. Conclusions. Intestinal levodopa infusion may be a valuable therapeutic option for unresponsive-FOG developed after subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation.

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Abnormal Olfaction in Parkinson’s Disease Is Related to Faster Disease Progression

Behavioural Neurology ◽

10.1155/2015/976589 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Sara Cavaco ◽

Alexandra Gonçalves ◽

Alexandre Mendes ◽

Nuno Vila-Chã ◽

Inês Moreira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Disease Progression ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Motor Symptom ◽

Identification Test ◽

Disease Rating ◽

Abnormal Performance ◽

Smell Identification

Introduction. A possible association between olfactory dysfunction and Parkinson’s disease (PD) severity has been a topic of contention for the past 40 years. Conflicting reports may be partially explained by procedural differences in olfactory assessment and motor symptom evaluation.Methods. One hundred and sixty-six nondemented PD patients performed the Brief-Smell Identification Test and test scores below the estimated 20th percentile as a function of sex, age, and education (i.e., 80% specificity) were considered demographically abnormal. Patients underwent motor examination after 12 h without antiparkinsonian medication.Results. Eighty-two percent of PD patients had abnormal olfaction. Abnormal performance on the Brief-Smell Identification Test was associated with higher disease severity (i.e., Hoehn and Yahr, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-III, Freezing of Gait questionnaire, and levodopa equivalent dose), even when disease duration was taken into account.Conclusions. Abnormal olfaction in PD is associated with increased severity and faster disease progression.

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German Translation and Validation of the “Freezing of Gait Questionnaire” in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.1155/2015/982058 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Anina Vogler ◽

Jorina Janssens ◽

Thomas Nyffeler ◽

Stephan Bohlhalter ◽

Tim Vanbellingen

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Divergent Validity ◽

Timed Up And Go ◽

Disease Rating ◽

Disease Questionnaire ◽

Movement Disorder Society

Background. Freezing of Gait (FOG) is a disabling parkinsonian symptom. The Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q) reliably detects FOG in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD).Objectives. The aim of this study was to develop a German translated version of the FOG-Q and to assess its validity.Methods. The translation was accomplished using forward-backward-translation. The construct validity of the FOG-Q was examined in twenty-seven German native speaking PD patients. Convergent validity was assessed by correlating the FOG-Q with the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) II-III, the Parkinson Disease Questionnaire 39 (PDQ-39), and the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG). Divergent validity was assessed by correlating the FOG-Q with the MDS-UPDRS I. The internal consistency was measured using Cronbach’s alpha (Cα).Results. A good internal structure of the FOG-Q was found (Cα=0.83). Significant moderate correlations between the FOG-Q and the MDS-UPDRS item 2.13 (freezing) (rs=0.568,P=0.002) and between the FOG-Q and the PDQ-39 subscale mobility (rs=0.516,P=0.006) were found. The lack of correlation with the MDS-UPDRS I demonstrated good divergent validity.Conclusion. The German FOG-Q is a valid tool to assess FOG in German native speaking PD patients.

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The Methods of Detection of Gait Disturbance and Postural Instability in Case of Parkinson’s Disease

Science and Innovations in Medicine ◽

10.35693/2500-1388-2018-0-2-37-40 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 37-40

Author(s):

IE E Poverennova ◽

VA A Kalinin ◽

SA A Shpileva

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Rating Scales ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Neurological Diseases ◽

Freezing Of Gait ◽

Postural Instability ◽

Motor Disorders ◽

Medication Therapy ◽

Disease Rating

Parkinson’s disease takes first place among neurological diseases of senior persons and its prevalence consists of 2% among people elderly than 65 years old. Disturbance of gait and postural instability are the most important motor disorders in case of Parkinson’s disease. Aim - to reveal factors which influence on the falling down of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Materials and methods. The use of unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale for examination of patients with Parkinson’s disease was performed. Results of rating scales were analyzed due to regression analysis. Results. It was revealed that the most important factor of falling down is the disturbance of gait. Freezing of gait has little influence on falling. Conclusion. The use of such diagnostic tests in the routine neurological examination allows to optimize medication therapy and to use modern non- medication methods of correction of gait.

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