Reduced Empathy Scores in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Non-Motor Symptom Associated with Advanced Disease Stages

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by brain metabolic networks, specifically associated with motor and cognitive manifestations. Few studies have investigated network changes in cerebral hemispheres ipsilateral and contralateral to the clinically more affected body side. Objective: We examined hemispheric network abnormalities and their relationship to striatal dopaminergic deficits in PD patients at different stages. Methods: 45 PD patients underwent dual-tracer positron emission tomography (PET) with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 18F-fluorodopa (FDOPA) in a high-resolution PET scanner. In all patients, we computed expression levels for the PD-related motor/cognition metabolic patterns (PDRP/PDCP) as well as putamen/caudate FDOPA uptake values in both hemispheres. Resulting hemispheric measures in the PD group were compared with corresponding healthy control values and assessed across disease stages. Results: Hemispheric PDRP and PDCP expression was significantly elevated contralateral and ipsilateral to the more affected body side in patients with unilateral symptoms (H&Y 1: p < 0.01) and in patients with bilateral limb involvement (H&Y 2-3: p < 0.001; H&Y 4: p < 0.003). Elevations in pattern expression were symmetrical at all disease stages. By contrast, FDOPA uptake in the caudate and putamen was reduced bilaterally (p < 0.002), with lower values on both sides at more advanced disease stages. Hemispheric uptake was asymmetrical in both striatal regions, with lower contralateral values at all disease stages. The magnitude of hemispheric uptake asymmetry was smaller with more advanced disease, reflecting greater change ipsilaterally. Conclusion: Symmetrical network expression in PD represents bilateral functional effects unrelated to nigrostriatal dopaminergic asymmetries.

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Glucocerebrosidase Activity is Reduced in Cryopreserved Parkinson’s Disease Patient Monocytes and Inversely Correlates with Motor Severity

Journal of Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.3233/jpd-202508 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Laura P. Hughes ◽

Marilia M.M. Pereira ◽

Deborah A. Hammond ◽

John B. Kwok ◽

Glenda M. Halliday ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Mononuclear Cells ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Disease Patient ◽

Motor Symptom ◽

Blood Monocytes ◽

Peripheral Blood Monocytes ◽

Classical Monocytes

Background: Reduced activity of lysosomal glucocerebrosidase is found in brain tissue from Parkinson’s disease patients. Glucocerebrosidase is also highly expressed in peripheral blood monocytes where its activity is decreased in Parkinson’s disease patients, even in the absence of GBA mutation. Objective: To measure glucocerebrosidase activity in cryopreserved peripheral blood monocytes from 30 Parkinson’s disease patients and 30 matched controls and identify any clinical correlation with disease severity. Methods: Flow cytometry was used to measure lysosomal glucocerebrosidase activity in total, classical, intermediate, and non-classical monocytes. All participants underwent neurological examination and motor severity was assessed by the Movement Disorders Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale. Results: Glucocerebrosidase activity was significantly reduced in the total and classical monocyte populations from the Parkinson’s disease patients compared to controls. GCase activity in classical monocytes was inversely correlated to motor symptom severity. Conclusion: Significant differences in monocyte glucocerebrosidase activity can be detected in Parkinson’s disease patients using cryopreserved mononuclear cells and monocyte GCase activity correlated with motor features of disease. Being able to use cryopreserved cells will facilitate the larger multi-site trials needed to validate monocyte GCase activity as a Parkinson’s disease biomarker.

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Life with Parkinson’s Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Pressure Is “OFF”

Journal of Parkinson s Disease ◽

10.3233/jpd-202342 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Trine HØrmann Thomsen ◽

Susanna M. Wallerstedt ◽

Kristian Winge ◽

Filip Bergquist

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Motor Symptom ◽

Free Text ◽

Symptom Scores ◽

Related Quality ◽

Health Related ◽

Potential Impact ◽

Swedish Cohort

People with Parkinson’s disease (PwP) have been suggested to be more vulnerable to negative psychological and psycho-social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to assess the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in PwP. A Danish/Swedish cohort of 67 PwP was analysed. Health-related quality of life (HRQL), depression, anxiety, apathy, sleep and motor symptom-scores were included in the analysis. Additionally, the Danish participants provided free-text descriptions of life during the pandemic. Overall, the participants reported significantly better HRQL during the COVID-19 period compared with before. Reduced social pressure may be part of the explanation. Despite worsened anxiety, night sleep improved.

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Parkinson’s Disease Motor Symptom Progression Slowed with Multisensory Dance Learning over 3-Years: A Preliminary Longitudinal Investigation

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci11070895 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 895

Author(s):

Karolina A. Bearss ◽

Joseph F. X. DeSouza

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Daily Living ◽

Rating Scale ◽

Motor Impairment ◽

Motor Dysfunction ◽

Motor Symptom ◽

Significant Group ◽

Rate Of Decline ◽

Symptom Progression

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that has a fast progression of motor dysfunction within the first 5 years of diagnosis, showing an annual motor rate of decline of the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) between 5.2 and 8.9 points. We aimed to determine both motor and non-motor PD symptom progression while participating in dance classes once per week over a period of three years. Longitudinal data was assessed for a total of 32 people with PD using MDS-UPDRS scores. Daily motor rate of decline was zero (slope = 0.000146) in PD-Dancers, indicating no motor impairment, whereas the PD-Reference group showed the expected motor decline across three years (p < 0.01). Similarly, non-motor aspects of daily living, motor experiences of daily living, and motor complications showed no significant decline. A significant group (PD-Dancers and PD-Reference) by days interaction showed that PD who train once per week have less motor impairment (M = 18.75) than PD-References who do not train (M = 24.61) over time (p < 0.05). Training is effective at slowing both motor and non-motor PD symptoms over three years as shown in decreased scores of the MDS-UPDRS.

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Detecting Sensitive Mobility Features for Parkinson's Disease Stages Via Machine Learning

Movement Disorders ◽

10.1002/mds.28631 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anat Mirelman ◽

Mor Ben Or Frank ◽

Michal Melamed ◽

Lena Granovsky ◽

Alice Nieuwboer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Machine Learning ◽

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Disease Stages

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Cannabis and its derivatives for the use of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders ◽

10.1177/17562864211018561 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 175628642110185

Author(s):

Susan J. Thanabalasingam ◽

Brandan Ranjith ◽

Robyn Jackson ◽

Don Thiwanka Wijeratne

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Motor Function ◽

Observational Studies ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Motor Symptom ◽

Quality Data ◽

Symptom Improvement ◽

Motor Symptoms

Background: Recent changes to the legal status of cannabis across various countries have renewed interest in exploring its use in Parkinson’s disease (PD). The use of cannabinoids for alleviation of motor symptoms has been extensively explored in pre-clinical studies. Objective: We aim to systematically review and meta-analyze literature on the use of medical cannabis or its derivatives (MC) in PD patients to determine its effect on motor function and its safety profile. Methods: We reviewed and analyzed original, full-text randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies. Primary outcomes were change in motor function and dyskinesia. Secondary outcomes included adverse events and side effects. All studies were analyzed for risk of bias. Results: Fifteen studies, including six RCTs, were analyzed. Of these, 12/15 (80%) mention concomitant treatment with antiparkinsonian medications, most commonly levodopa. Primary outcomes were most often measured using the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) among RCTs and patient self-report of symptom improvement was widely used among observational studies. Most of the observational data lacking appropriate controls had effect estimates favoring the intervention. However, the controlled studies demonstrated no significant motor symptom improvement overall. The meta-analysis of three RCTs, including a total of 83 patients, did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in UPDRS III score variation (MD −0.21, 95% CI −4.15 to 3.72; p = 0.92) with MC use. Only one study reported statistically significant improvement in dyskinesia ( p < 0.05). The intervention was generally well tolerated. All RCTs had a high risk of bias. Conclusion: Although observational studies establish subjective symptom alleviation and interest in MC among PD patients, there is insufficient evidence to support its integration into clinical practice for motor symptom treatment. This is primarily due to lack of good quality data.

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Impaired empathy: A non-motor symptom associated with advanced stages of Parkinson's disease

Basal Ganglia ◽

10.1016/j.baga.2017.02.012 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. 4

Author(s):

Nele Schmidt ◽

Laura Paschen ◽

Günther Deuschl ◽

Karsten Witt

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Motor Symptom ◽

Advanced Stages

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

10.21203/rs.3.rs-871480/v1 ◽

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.

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