Effects of dry needling on gait and muscle tone in Parkinson’s disease: a randomized clinical trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 096452842110392
Author(s):  
Natalia Brandín-de la Cruz ◽  
Sandra Calvo ◽  
Cleofás Rodríguez-Blanco ◽  
Pablo Herrero ◽  
Elisabeth Bravo-Esteban
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Muscle Tone ◽  
Lower Extremities ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
Walk Test ◽  
Single Session ◽  
Dry Needling

Background: Alterations in gait and muscular rigidity are common and disabling in persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether a single dry needling (DN) session can promote changes in gait and muscle tone in the lower extremities as well as in the evolution of the disease in persons with PD. Methods: A randomized double-blind clinical trial was designed. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (IG) that received a session of DN over the semitendinosus, medial gastrocnemius, soleus and rectus femoris muscles, or to a control group (CG) that received a session of sham DN in the same muscles. The effects of DN were assessed using the timed up and go test (TUG), 10 meter walk test (10MWT), 6 minute walk test (6MWT) and myotonometry before, immediately after, and 7 days after the intervention. Results: Thirty-three participants were analyzed aged 69.9 ± 7.2 years (mean ± SD; 39% female). There were no significant differences between the IG and CG for any outcomes. Significant differences were observed when comparing the Pre and Follow-up values in the IG for functional mobility of gait in the TUG (p = 0.049), gait speed in the 10MWT (p = 0.041) and muscle tone in the lower extremities by myotonometry (frequency (p = 0.027) and stiffness (p = 0.013)). By comparison, there were no significant within-group differences in the CG. Conclusion: A single session of DN had no measurable benefit compared to a single session of sham DN. Within-group changes in the IG suggested improvements in functional mobility of gait and gait speed, as well as changes in the muscle tone in the lower extremities of PD patients, which could be worthy of further exploration by future research.

Home-based dance exercise for adults with moderate Parkinson’s disease: Protocol with a pilot study for a non-randomized clinical trial using video-dances in a DVD format (Preprint)

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manoela de Paula Ferreira ◽  
Adriano Zanardi da Silva ◽  
Bruna Yamaguchi ◽  
Sunita Mathur ◽  
Taina Ribas Melo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
Contemporary Dance ◽  
Home Based

BACKGROUND Many people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have never received rehabilitation care due to lack of accessibility and transportation and high therapy costs for in-person rehabilitation. Home-based dance exercise is an innovative, low-cost therapy that may reduce accessibility barriers to exercise. Especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, home-exercise programs are a highly relevant, alternative approach for people with PD OBJECTIVE This clinical trial protocol aims to explore the effects of a Home-Based contemporary dance exercise program for people with moderate Parkinson’s Disease (PD), focusing on balance, functional mobility, quality of life (QOL), cognitive function, and depression. METHODS This protocol is for a non-randomized clinical trial for adults with moderate PD divided into control group (CG) and Experimental Group (EG). Participants from the EG will perform video-dances of the contemporary dance, delivered in a DVD format. The video-dances will be executed 16 weeks, three times per week, 30 minutes each day at home, with exercise intensity controlled by the BORG scale. Participants from the CG will not receive any new exercise therapy. As primary outcomes, the signs and symptoms of the PD assessed by the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale – UPDRS II and III, Hoehn and Yahr for the PD severity, and health-related quality of life (HRQL), measured by the Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire – PDQ-39) will be tested. Secondary outcomes include cognitive function by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment – MoCA, balance by the Mini-BESTest, functional mobility by the Timed “Up and Go” test – TUG and depression by the Geriatric Depression Scale – GDS. All outcomes will be assessed in an in-person evaluation by a blinded assessor before and after the 16 weeks of the program. RESULTS This protocol has a pilot study that included 10 participants (5 in each group). It was observed positive results favoring the EG over cognitive function (p = 0.034). In addition, HRQL, balance, and depression were improved after the pilot program in the EG, however, without significant difference. CONCLUSIONS This clinical trial has the potential to be a safe alternative exercise approach under COVID restrictions and travel-free therapy with effects on PD symptoms. CLINICALTRIAL RBR-58T68W (Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry)

scholarly journals A Smartphone Application as an Exploratory Endpoint in a Phase 3 Parkinson’s Disease Clinical Trial: A Pilot Study

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Alex Page ◽  
Norman Yung ◽  
Peggy Auinger ◽  
Charles Venuto ◽  
Alistair Glidden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Active Drug ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Smartphone Application ◽  
Finger Tapping ◽  
Phase 3

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Smartphones can generate objective measures of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and supplement traditional in-person rating scales. However, smartphone use in clinical trials has been limited. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> This study aimed to determine the feasibility of introducing a smartphone research application into a PD clinical trial and to evaluate the resulting measures. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A smartphone application was introduced part-way into a phase 3 randomized clinical trial of inosine. The application included finger tapping, gait, and cognition tests, and participants were asked to complete an assessment battery at home and in clinic alongside the Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Of 236 eligible participants in the parent study, 88 (37%) consented to participate, and 59 (27 randomized to inosine and 32 to placebo) completed a baseline smartphone assessment. These 59 participants collectively completed 1,292 batteries of assessments. The proportion of participants who completed at least one smartphone assessment was 61% at 3, 54% at 6, and 35% at 12 months. Finger tapping speed correlated weakly with the part III motor portion (<i>r</i> = −0.16, left hand; <i>r</i> = −0.04, right hand) and total (<i>r</i> = −0.14) MDS-UPDRS. Gait speed correlated better with the same measures (<i>r</i> = −0.25, part III motor; <i>r</i> = −0.34, total). Over 6 months, finger tapping speed, gait speed, and memory scores did not differ between those randomized to active drug or placebo. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Introducing a smartphone application midway into a phase 3 clinical trial was challenging. Measures of bradykinesia and gait speed correlated modestly with traditional outcomes and were consistent with the study’s overall findings, which found no benefit of the active drug.

scholarly journals Cross-sectional associations between cognition and mobility in Parkinson’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-111
Author(s):  
Nariana Mattos Figueiredo Sousa ◽  
Roberta Correa Macedo ◽  
Sonia Maria Dozzi Brucki
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Divided Attention ◽  
Gait Speed ◽  
Digit Span ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Timed Up And Go ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Global Cognition

ABSTRACT. Cross-sectional studies show an association of decline in mental flexibility and inhibitory control with reduced gait speed and falls, as well as divided attention deficit and difficulty in initiating gait. Objective: To investigate the relationships between cognitive function and gait performance in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who participated in a hospital neurorehabilitation program. Methods: A total of 107 patients (79 males, 28 females; mean age 61.00±8.2 years; mean schooling 11.7±4.1 years) with idiopathic PD (mean disease duration 5.5±4.1 years) were recruited for this study. Among them, 78.50% were in stages I and II of the Hoehn & Yahr Scale. Cognitive functions were evaluated through the Digit Span test, Trail Making Test, and Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination III. Motor function was assessed with the 10-Meter Walk Test, the short version of the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (Mini-BESTest), and the Timed Up and Go Test. Results: Balance skills were significantly correlated with global cognition and specific domains, including divided attention, verbal fluency, and visuospatial function. Functional mobility showed a significant association with all cognitive tests, except for the number of errors on TMT-A. Gait speed presented a significant correlation with global cognition scores, memory, and attention, including divided attention. Conclusions: These findings might help early identification of cognitive deficits or motor dysfunctions in PD patients who may benefit from rehabilitation strategies, as well as facilitate fall risk assessments and strategies to prevent falls. Future prospective studies are needed to investigate the effects of cognitive training on motor performance, since the difficulty in motor rehabilitation may be more related to cognitive loss than to motor damage.

Coexistent Osteoarthritis and Parkinson’s Disease: Data from the Parkinson’s Foundation Outcomes Project

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 1601-1610
Author(s):  
Jaimie A. Roper ◽  
Abigail C. Schmitt ◽  
Hanzhi Gao ◽  
Ying He ◽  
Samuel Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Functional Mobility ◽  
Quality Improvement Initiative ◽  
Timed Up And Go ◽  
Mobility Performance ◽  
Risk Of Mortality ◽  
The Impact

Background: The impact of concurrent osteoarthritis on mobility and mortality in individuals with Parkinson’s disease is unknown. Objective: We sought to understand to what extent osteoarthritis severity influenced mobility across time and how osteoarthritis severity could affect mortality in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. Methods: In a retrospective observational longitudinal study, data from the Parkinson’s Foundation Quality Improvement Initiative was analyzed. We included 2,274 persons with Parkinson’s disease. The main outcomes were the effects of osteoarthritis severity on functional mobility and mortality. The Timed Up and Go test measured functional mobility performance. Mortality was measured as the osteoarthritis group effect on survival time in years. Results: More individuals with symptomatic osteoarthritis reported at least monthly falls compared to the other groups (14.5% vs. 7.2% without reported osteoarthritis and 8.4% asymptomatic/minimal osteoarthritis, p = 0.0004). The symptomatic group contained significantly more individuals with low functional mobility (TUG≥12 seconds) at baseline (51.5% vs. 29.0% and 36.1%, p < 0.0001). The odds of having low functional mobility for individuals with symptomatic osteoarthritis was 1.63 times compared to those without reported osteoarthritis (p < 0.0004); and was 1.57 times compared to those with asymptomatic/minimal osteoarthritis (p = 0.0026) after controlling pre-specified covariates. Similar results hold at the time of follow-up while changes in functional mobility were not significant across groups, suggesting that osteoarthritis likely does not accelerate the changes in functional mobility across time. Coexisting symptomatic osteoarthritis and Parkinson’s disease seem to additively increase the risk of mortality (p = 0.007). Conclusion: Our results highlight the impact and potential additive effects of symptomatic osteoarthritis in persons with Parkinson’s disease.

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