Analyzing Head Pose in Remotely Collected Videos of People with Parkinson’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Mohammad Rafayet Ali ◽  
Taylan Sen ◽  
Qianyi Li ◽  
Raina Langevin ◽  
Taylor Myers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Head Motion ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Web Interface ◽  
Assessment Tests ◽  
Model Following ◽  
Frequency Components ◽  
Motion Assessment ◽  
Large Frequency

We developed an intelligent web interface that guides users to perform several Parkinson’s disease (PD) motion assessment tests in front of their webcam. After gathering data from 329 participants (N = 199 with PD, N = 130 without PD), we developed a methodology for measuring head motion randomness based on the frequency distribution of the motion. We found PD is associated with significantly higher randomness in side-to-side head motion as measured by the variance and number of large frequency components compared to the age-matched non-PD control group (p = 0.001, d = 0.13). Additionally, in participants taking levodopa (N = 151), the most common drug to treat Parkinson’s, the degree of random side-to-side head motion was found to follow an exponential-decay activity model following the time of the last dose taken (r = −0.404, p = 6e-5). A logistic regression model for classifying PD vs. non-PD groups identified that higher frequency components are more associated with PD. Our findings could potentially be useful toward objectively quantifying differences in head motions that may be due to either PD or PD medications.

scholarly journals Study of cognitive impairment and genetic polymorphism of SLC41A1 (rs11240569 allele) in Parkinson’s disease in Upper Egypt: case-control study

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamdy N. El-Tallawy ◽  
Tahia H. Saleem ◽  
Wafaa M. Farghaly ◽  
Heba Mohamed Saad Eldien ◽  
Ashraf Khodaery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Motor Symptoms ◽  
And Control ◽  
Non Motor Symptoms ◽  
Control Study

Abstract Background Parkinson’s disease is one of the neurodegenerative disorders that is caused by genetic and environmental factors or interaction between them. Solute carrier family 41 member 1 within the PARK16 locus has been reported to be associated with Parkinson’s disease. Cognitive impairment is one of the non-motor symptoms that is considered a challenge in Parkinson’s disease patients. This study aimed to investigate the association of rs11240569 polymorphism; a synonymous coding variant in SLC41A1 in Parkinson’s disease patients in addition to the assessment of cognitive impairment in those patients. Results In a case -control study, rs11240569 single nucleotide polymorphisms in SLC41A1, genes were genotyped in 48 Parkinson’s disease patients and 48 controls. Motor and non-motor performance in Parkinson's disease patients were assessed by using the Movement Disorder Society-Sponsored Revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). The genotype and allele frequencies were compared between the two groups and revealed no significant differences between case and control groups for rs11240569 in SLC41A1 gene with P value .523 and .54, respectively. Cognition was evaluated and showed the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of WAIS score of PD patients 80.4 ± 9.13 and the range was from 61 to 105, in addition to MMSE that showed mean ± SD 21.96 ± 3.8. Conclusion Genetic testing of the present study showed that rs11240569 polymorphism of SLC41A1 gene has no significant differences in distributions of alleles and genotypes between cases and control group, in addition to cognitive impairment that is present in a large proportion of PD patients and in addition to the strong correlation between cognitive impairment and motor and non-motor symptoms progression.

scholarly journals Donepezil for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyoungwon Baik ◽  
Seon Myeong Kim ◽  
Jin Ho Jung ◽  
Yang Hyun Lee ◽  
Seok Jong Chung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Treatment Group ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Significant Difference

AbstractWe investigated the efficacy of donepezil for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s disease (PD-MCI). This was a prospective, non-randomized, open-label, two-arm study. Eighty PD-MCI patients were assigned to either a treatment or control group. The treatment group received donepezil for 48 weeks. The primary outcome measures were the Korean version of Mini-Mental State Exam and Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores. Secondary outcome measures were the Clinical Dementia Rating, Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III, Clinical Global Impression scores. Progression of dementia was assessed at 48-week. Comprehensive neuropsychological tests and electroencephalography (EEG) were performed at baseline and after 48 weeks. The spectral power ratio of the theta to beta2 band (TB2R) in the electroencephalogram was analyzed. There was no significant difference in the primary and secondary outcome measures between the two groups. However, the treatment group showed a significant decrease in TB2R at bilateral frontotemporoparietal channels compared to the control group. Although we could not demonstrate improvements in the cognitive functions, donepezil treatment had a modulatory effect on the EEG in PD-MCI patients. EEG might be a sensitive biomarker for detecting changes in PD-MCI after donepezil treatment.

scholarly journals Integrated network analysis identifying potential novel drug candidates and targets for Parkinson's disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pusheng Quan ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Shi Yan ◽  
Shirong Wen ◽  
Chengqun Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Drug Target ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Functional Enrichment ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Drug Candidates ◽  
Novel Drug

AbstractThis study aimed to identify potential novel drug candidates and targets for Parkinson’s disease. First, 970 genes that have been reported to be related to PD were collected from five databases, and functional enrichment analysis of these genes was conducted to investigate their potential mechanisms. Then, we collected drugs and related targets from DrugBank, narrowed the list by proximity scores and Inverted Gene Set Enrichment analysis of drug targets, and identified potential drug candidates for PD treatment. Finally, we compared the expression distribution of the candidate drug-target genes between the PD group and the control group in the public dataset with the largest sample size (GSE99039) in Gene Expression Omnibus. Ten drugs with an FDR < 0.1 and their corresponding targets were identified. Some target genes of the ten drugs significantly overlapped with PD-related genes or already known therapeutic targets for PD. Nine differentially expressed drug-target genes with p < 0.05 were screened. This work will facilitate further research into the possible efficacy of new drugs for PD and will provide valuable clues for drug design.

scholarly journals Validation of Cognitive Rehabilitation as a Balance Rehabilitation Strategy in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 314
Author(s):  
Aida Arroyo-Ferrer ◽  
Francisco José Sánchez-Cuesta ◽  
Yeray González-Zamorano ◽  
María Dolores del Castillo ◽  
Carolina Sastre-Barrios ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Therapy ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Neurodegenerative Disorder ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Motor Symptoms ◽  
The Impact

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. This disease is characterized by motor symptoms, such as bradykinesia, tremor, and rigidity. Although balance impairment is characteristic of advanced stages, it can be present with less intensity since the beginning of the disease. Approximately 60% of PD patients fall once a year and 40% recurrently. On the other hand, cognitive symptoms affect up to 20% of patients with PD in early stages and can even precede the onset of motor symptoms. There are cognitive requirements for balance and can be challenged when attention is diverted or reduced, linking a worse balance and a higher probability of falls with a slower cognitive processing speed and attentional problems. Cognitive rehabilitation of attention and processing speed can lead to an improvement in postural stability in patients with Parkinson’s. Methods: We present a parallel and controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) to assess the impact on balance of a protocol based on cognitive rehabilitation focused on sustained attention through the NeuronUP platform (Neuronup SI, La Rioja, Spain) in patients with PD. For 4 weeks, patients in the experimental group will receive cognitive therapy three days a week while the control group will not receive any therapy. The protocol has been registered at trials.gov NCT04730466. Conclusions: Cognitive therapy efficacy on balance improvement may open the possibility of new rehabilitation strategies for prevention of falls in PD, reducing morbidity, and saving costs to the health care system.

scholarly journals Feasibility Aspects of Exploring Exercise-Induced Neuroplasticity in Parkinson’s Disease: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Johansson ◽  
Malin Freidle ◽  
Urban Ekman ◽  
Ellika Schalling ◽  
Breiffni Leavy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Dual Task ◽  
Trial Design ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Recruitment Rate ◽  
Blood Sampling ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Exercise Induced

Background. Recent studies indicate that exercise can induce neuroplastic changes in people with Parkinson’s disease (PwPD). Reports of feasibility outcomes from existing pilot trials however are, of date, insufficient to enable replication by others in larger definitive trials. Objective. To evaluate trial design for a definitive trial by exploring process and scientific feasibility. Methods. The trial design was a parallel-group RCT pilot with a 1 : 1 allocation ratio to either HiBalance or an active control group (HiCommunication). Both groups received one-hour sessions twice weekly, plus home exercises weekly, for 10 weeks. Participants with mild-to-moderate Parkinson’s disease (PD) were recruited via advertisement. Assessment included physical performance, structural and functional MRI, blood sampling, neuropsychological assessment, and speech/voice assessment. Process and scientific feasibility were monitored throughout the study. Process feasibility involved recruitment, participant acceptability of assessments and interventions, assessment procedures (focus on imaging, blood sampling, and dual-task gait analysis), and blinding procedures. Scientific feasibility involved trends in outcome response and safety during group training and home exercises. Data are presented in median, minimum, and maximum values. Changes from pre- to postintervention are reported descriptively. Results. Thirteen participants were included (4 women, mean age 69.7 years), with a recruitment rate of 31%. Attendance rates and follow-up questionnaires indicated that both groups were acceptable to participate. Image quality was acceptable; however, diplopia and/or sleepiness were observed in several participants during MRI. With regard to dual-task gait performance, there appeared to be a ceiling effect of the cognitive tasks with seven participants scoring all correct answers at pretest. Blinding of group allocation was successful for one assessor but was broken for half of participants for the other. Conclusions. The overall trial design proved feasible to perform, but further strengthening ahead of the definitive RCT is recommended, specifically with respect to MRI setup, cognitive dual-tasks during gait, and blinding procedures. This trial is registered with NCT03213873.

scholarly journals Alteration in the Cerebrospinal Fluid Lipidome in Parkinson’s Disease: A Post-Mortem Pilot Study

Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 491
Author(s):  
Joaquín Fernández-Irigoyen ◽  
Paz Cartas-Cejudo ◽  
Marta Iruarrizaga-Lejarreta ◽  
Enrique Santamaría
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Post Mortem ◽  
Cellular Models ◽  
Flight Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Lipid Species

Lipid metabolism is clearly associated to Parkinson’s disease (PD). Although lipid homeostasis has been widely studied in multiple animal and cellular models, as well as in blood derived from PD individuals, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lipidomic profile in PD remains largely unexplored. In this study, we characterized the post-mortem CSF lipidomic imbalance between neurologically intact controls (n = 10) and PD subjects (n = 20). The combination of dual extraction with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-ESI-qToF-MS/MS) allowed for the monitoring of 257 lipid species across all samples. Complementary multivariate and univariate data analysis identified that glycerolipids (mono-, di-, and triacylglycerides), saturated and mono/polyunsaturated fatty acids, primary fatty amides, glycerophospholipids (phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines), sphingolipids (ceramides, sphingomyelins), N-acylethanolamines and sterol lipids (cholesteryl esters, steroids) were significantly increased in the CSF of PD compared to the control group. Interestingly, CSF lipid dyshomeostasis differed depending on neuropathological staging and disease duration. These results, despite the limitation of being obtained in a small population, suggest extensive CSF lipid remodeling in PD, shedding new light on the deployment of CSF lipidomics as a promising tool to identify potential lipid markers as well as discriminatory lipid species between PD and other atypical parkinsonisms.

Parkinson's disease and convergence insufficiency: a mini-review

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 108-111
Author(s):  
Mashael Al-Namaeh
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Medline Search ◽  
Convergence Insufficiency ◽  
Eye Examination ◽  
The Relationship

Background: A key manifestation of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is visual impairment. Cognitive impairment has been found to overlap with convergence insufficiency (CI) in patients with PD and is associated with significantly greater near point convergence (NPC) distance. Difficulty in reading and diplopia were the most common symptoms of CI in PD. The prevalence of CI is greater among patients with PD. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the relationship between PD and CI. Methods: Studies that had included data on CI, NPC, or both were selected by searching PubMed/MEDLINE and clinicaltrails.gov, without any timeline or language limitation. The following terms were used in PubMed/MEDLINE search: ‘Clinical Trials’, ‘Parkinson’s Disease’, and ‘Convergence Insufficiency’. For clinical trials.gov database, the terms ‘Parkinson’s Disease’, ‘Convergence Insufficiency’, and ‘Completed Studies’ were used. Only those studies with control subjects were included. PubMed/MEDLINE search yielded 1,563 articles, but no article was found in the clinical trails.gov search. Twelve articles met the inclusion criteria, among which nine articles were selected as they had data on CI or NPC distance (cm), and PD.   Results: Overall, there were 1,563 articles; among them, 12 articles met the inclusion criteria. Nine articles were selected based on their data concerning CI or NPC distance (cm) and PD. Relative to the control group, the PD group had high CI. In addition, PD group showed increase in NPC distance than the control group. Conclusions: These data suggest that the patients with PD had an increased likelihood of developing CI visual symptoms, and increased NPC distance than healthy controls. These findings indicate that regular eye examination is very important for patients with PD.

Motor Symptom Asymmetry Predicts Non-motor Outcome and Quality of Life Following STN DBS in Parkinson's Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Péron ◽  
Philippe Voruz ◽  
Jordan Pierce ◽  
Kévin Ahrweiller ◽  
Claire Haegelen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Motor Symptom ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Motor Symptoms ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Stn Dbs

Abstract Risk factors for long-term non-motor disorders and quality of life following subthalamic nucleus deep-brain stimulation (STN DBS) have not yet been fully identified. In the present study, we investigated the impact of motor symptom asymmetry in Parkinson’s disease.Data were extracted for 52 patients with Parkinson’s disease (half with left-sided motor symptoms and half with right-sided ones) who underwent bilateral STN and a matched healthy control group. Performances for cognitive tests and neuropsychiatric and quality-of-life questionnaires at 12 months post-DBS were compared with a pre-DBS baseline. Results indicated a deterioration in cognitive performance post-DBS in patients with left-sided motor symptoms. Performances of patients with right-sided motor symptoms were maintained, except for a verbal executive task. These differential effects had an impact on patients’ quality of life. The results highlight the existence of two distinct cognitive profiles of Parkinson’s disease, depending on motor symptom asymmetry. This asymmetry is a potential risk factor for non-motor adverse effects following STN DBS.

Mildronate as a Regulator of Protein Expression in a Rat Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Medicina ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergejs Isajevs ◽  
Darja Isajeva ◽  
Ulrika Beitnere ◽  
Baiba Jansone ◽  
Ivars Kalvinsh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Growth Factor ◽  
Substantia Nigra ◽  
Rat Model ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Western Blot Assay ◽  
Neural Cell Adhesion ◽  
6 Hydroxydopamine ◽  
Cardioprotective Drug

Background. Mildronate (3-[2,2,2-trimethylhydrazinium] propionate dihydrate) traditionally is a well-known cardioprotective drug. However, our recent studies convincingly demonstrated its neuroprotective properties. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of mildronate on the expression of proteins that are involved in the differentiation and survival of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in the rat model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The following biomarkers were used: heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70, a molecular chaperone), glial cell line-derived nerve growth factor (GDNF, a growth factor promoting neuronal differentiation, regeneration, and survival), and neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM). Material and Methods. PD was modeled by 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) unilateral intrastriatal injection in rats. Mildronate was administered at doses of 10, 20, and 50 mg/kg for 2 weeks intraperitoneally before 6-OHDA injection. Rat brains were dissected on day 28 after discontinuation of mildronate injections. The expression of biomarkers was assessed immunohistochemically and by Western blot assay. Results. 6-OHDA decreased the expression of Hsp70 and GDNF in the lesioned striatum and substantia nigra, whereas in mildronate-pretreated (20 and 50 mg/kg) rats, the expression of Hsp70 and GDNF was close to the control group values. NCAM expression also was decreased by 6-OHDA in the striatum and it was totally protected by mildronate at a dose of 50 mg/kg. In contrast, in the substantia nigra, 6-OHDA increased the expression of NCAM, while mildronate pretreatment (20 and 50 mg/kg) reversed the 6-OHDA-induced overexpression of NCAM close to the control values. Conclusion. The obtained data showed that mildronate was capable to regulate the expression of proteins that play a role in the homeostasis of neuro-glial processes.

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