scholarly journals Technology-Assisted Rehabilitation of Writing Skills in Parkinson’s Disease: Visual Cueing versus Intelligent Feedback

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelien Nackaerts ◽  
Alice Nieuwboer ◽  
Elisabetta Farella
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Visual Cueing ◽  
Sensory Modalities ◽  
Larger Sample

Recent research showed that visual cueing can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on handwriting of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and healthy controls depending on the circumstances. Hence, using other sensory modalities to deliver cueing or feedback may be a valuable alternative. Therefore, the current study compared the effects of short-term training with either continuous visual cues or intermittent intelligent verbal feedback. Ten PD patients and nine healthy controls were randomly assigned to one of these training modes. To assess transfer of learning, writing performance was assessed in the absence of cueing and feedback on both trained and untrained writing sequences. The feedback pen and a touch-sensitive writing tablet were used for testing. Both training types resulted in improved writing amplitudes for the trained and untrained sequences. In conclusion, these results suggest that the feedback pen is a valuable tool to implement writing training in a tailor-made fashion for people with PD. Future studies should include larger sample sizes and different subgroups of PD for long-term training with the feedback pen.

scholarly journals Opposite Effects of Visual Cueing During Writing-Like Movements of Different Amplitudes in Parkinson’s Disease

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 431-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelien Nackaerts ◽  
Alice Nieuwboer ◽  
Sanne Broeder ◽  
Bouwien C. M. Smits-Engelsman ◽  
Stephan P. Swinnen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Fine Motor ◽  
Motor Tasks ◽  
Visual Cueing ◽  
Dependent Variables ◽  
Size Variability ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Accuracy Constraints

Background. Handwriting is often impaired in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Several studies have shown that writing in PD benefits from the use of cues. However, this was typically studied with writing and drawing sizes that are usually not used in daily life. Objective. This study examines the effect of visual cueing on a prewriting task at small amplitudes (≤1.0 cm) in PD patients and healthy controls to better understand the working action of cueing for writing. Methods. A total of 15 PD patients and 15 healthy, age-matched controls performed a prewriting task at 0.6 cm and 1.0 cm in the presence and absence of visual cues (target lines). Writing amplitude, variability of amplitude, and speed were chosen as dependent variables, measured using a newly developed touch-sensitive tablet. Results. Cueing led to immediate improvements in writing size, variability of writing size, and speed in both groups in the 1.0 cm condition. However, when writing at 0.6 cm with cues, a decrease in writing size was apparent in both groups ( P < .001) and the difference in variability of amplitude between cued and uncued writing disappeared. In addition, the writing speed of controls decreased when the cue was present. Conclusions. Visual target lines of 1.0 cm improved the writing of sequential loops in contrast to lines spaced at 0.6 cm. These results illustrate that, unlike for gait, visual cueing for fine-motor tasks requires a differentiated approach, taking into account the possible increases of accuracy constraints imposed by cueing.

Increased intake of fast acting carbohydrates in patients with Parkinson’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Schäffer ◽  
Alina Schermann ◽  
Florian Zirbs ◽  
Daniela Berg
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Behavioral Change ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
High Sugar ◽  
High Sugar Content ◽  
Fast Acting ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Background: Patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) regularly report an increased desire for food or beverages with high sugar content. Objective: To verify the hypothesis of an increase intake of fast-acting carbohydrates in PD patients. Methods: This study investigated the consumption of high sugar-content food products in 221 PD patients compared with 184 healthy controls using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: Male PD patients reported significant more often a high consumption of chocolate (p=0.005) and other sweets (p<0.001) when compared to healthy controls. Moreover, PD patients with a high intake of these products showed a significant longer disease duration (p=0.002). Conclusion: Our study confirmed changes in intake of fast acting carbohydrates derived from sweets in PD. Future studies should address the observed association with disease progression to understand underlying pathophysiological mechanisms leading to this behavioral change.

scholarly journals A Manipulation of Visual Feedback during Gait Training in Parkinson's Disease

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quincy J. Almeida ◽  
Haseel Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Optic Flow ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Step Length ◽  
Gait Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Visual Cueing ◽  
Walking Velocity

Visual cues are known to improve gait in Parkinson's disease (PD); however, the contribution of optic flow continues to be disputed. This study manipulated transverse line cues during two gait training interventions (6 weeks). PD subjects (N=42) were assigned to one of three groups: treadmill (TG), overground (OG), or control group (CG). Participants walked across lines placed on either treadmills or 16-meter carpets, respectively. The treadmill (TG) offered a reduced dynamic flow from the environment, while lines presented on the ground (OG) emphasized optic flow related to the participant's own displacement. Both interventions significantly improved (and maintained through retention period) step length, thus improving walking velocity. Only the OG improved in the TUG test, while only the TG showed hints of improving (and maintaining) motor symptoms. Since gait improvements were found in both training groups, we conclude that by reducing optic flow, gait benefits associated with visual cueing training can still be achieved.

scholarly journals Gold Standard of Symptomatic treatment in Parkinson disease: Carbidopa / Levodopa

2018 ◽  
pp. 63-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aslam Pathan ◽  
Abdulrahman Alshahrani
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Gold Standard ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Symptomatic Treatment ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Neurologic Disorders ◽  
Pharmacological Data

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurologic disorders, affecting approximately 1% of individuals older than 60 years and causing progressive disability that can be slowed but not halted, by treatment. The goal of the medical management of Parkinson's disease is to provide control of signs and symptoms for as long as possible while minimizing adverse effects. Levodopa coupled with a peripheral decarboxylase inhibitor (PDI), such as carbidopa, remains the gold standard of symptomatic treatment of motor features of Parkinson's disease. It provides the greatest antiparkinsonian benefit with the fewest adverse effects in the short term. However, its long-term use is associated with the development of fluctuations and dyskinesias. This review article is written to summarize the clinical and pharmacological data of carbidopa and levodopa which will be helpful to neurologists and physicians.

scholarly journals Short- and Long-Term Effects of DBS on Gait in Parkinson's Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Brozova ◽  
Isabelle Barnaure ◽  
Evzen Ruzicka ◽  
Jan Stochl ◽  
Ron Alterman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
Mean Time ◽  
Stn Dbs

The aim was to compare the short and long-term effects of subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) on gait dysfunction and other cardinal symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Two groups of patients were studied. The first group (short-term DBS, n = 8) included patients recently implanted with STN DBS (mean time since DBS 15.8 months, mean age 58.8 years, PD duration 13 years); the second group (long-term DBS, n = 10) included patients with at least 5 years of DBS therapy (mean time since DBS 67.6 months, mean age 61.7 years, PD duration 17.1 years). Both groups were examined using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Gait and Balance scale (GABS) during four stimulation/medication states (ON/OFF; OFF/OFF; OFF/ON; ON/ON). Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA with time since implantation (years) between groups and medication or DBS effect (ON, OFF) within groups. In the short-term DBS group, stimulation improved all UPDRS subscores similar to dopaminergic medications. In particular, average gait improvement was over 40% (p = 0.01), as measured by the UPDRS item 29 and GABS II. In the long-term DBS group, stimulation consistently improved all clinical subscores with the exception of gait and postural instability. In these patients, the effect of levodopa on gait was partially preserved. Short-term improvement of gait abnormalities appears to significantly decline after 5 years of STN DBS in PD patients, while effectiveness for other symptoms remains stable. Progressive non-dopaminergic (non-DBS responsive) mechanisms or deleterious effects of high frequency STN stimulation on gait function may play a role.

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