27th September 2012 - New research

THE CLINICAL FEATURES OF VASCULAR PARKINSONISM

Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry [2012] 83 (10) : 1027-1029 (Glass PG, Lees AJ, Bacellar A, Zijlmans J, Katzenschlager R, Silveira-Moriyama L.) Complete abstract

Vascular Parkinsonism is produced by strokes that affect the basal ganglia in the brain. A stroke is the loss of activity of a discreet area of the brain because of blockage of the blood supply to that brain region. Researchers evaluated in detail the clinical features in confirmed cases of Vascular Parkinsonism. Those assessed in the study had an average age of onset at 70 years old, and had Parkinson's Disease for an average of just over 10 years. 

Bradykinesia (slow movement) was present in everybody who had Vascular Parkinsonism. Rigidity was present in almost everybody (96% of cases). Falls were present in 76%, pyramidal signs in 54%, urinary incontinence in 50% and dementia in 39%. None of them had visual hallucinations. Two thirds of them developed Vascular Parkinsonism in a seemingly harmless way but actually with grave effects. The progression of the disability was then relentless. People with Vascular Parkinsonism had an older age of onset than those people who had Parkinson's Disease. This pattern of symptoms might help distinguish Vascular Parkinsonism from Parkinson's Disease. For a printable version of this article click here.  In order to refer to this article on its own click here

23rd September 2012 - New book

FRONTIERS IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE RESEARCH

Aderbal S. (Author, Editor), Jr. Aguiar (Author, Editor), Rui D. S. Prediger (Editor)

Publisher's description : Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects approximately 1 million persons in the United States. This disease has been a force in the transformation of neurology from a specialty restricted to diagnosis into one with active and controversial therapies. This book is an up-to-date volume presenting hot topics in this actual scenario. Sections include new functional aspects of basal ganglia, little-known environmental factors in the aetiology of the disease, insights into the disease-related neurodegeneration, a critical discussion of current treatments and their limitations, and unexplored neuropsychiatric presentations of the disease. Click here for more details. For more books concerning Parkinson's Disease go to Parkinson's Disease Books.

13th September 2012 - New research

HIGH PREVALENCE OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE IN CANADA

Parkinsonism Related Disorders [2012] 18 (4) : 327-331 (Allyson Jones C, Wayne Martin WR, Wieler M, King-Jesso P, Voaklander DC.) Complete abstract

The prevalence of Parkinson's Disease in Canada has been found to be one of the highest of any country in the world. The study was carried out in British Columbia, Canada. The prevalence rates amongst men were found to be 396-207 per 100,000 for men, and 259 to 127 per 100,000 for women. Combining the figures for both men and women gives figures of around 317 to 167 per 100,00.

These figures are just about higher than those in the U.S.A., which has one of the highest prevalence rates of any country. The only countries with higher prevalence rates than Canada are Albania and Egypt, where the prevalence rates are exceptionally high. The ratio of men to women with Parkinson's Disease in Canada is 1.56. As in most countries in the world, in Canada there are more men than women with Parkinson's Disease. For more concerning prevalence go to the Prevalence of Parkinson's Disease. For a printable version of this article click here.  In order to refer to this article on its own click here. 

9th September 2012 - New research

THE SAFETY AND TOLERABILITY OF NEUPRO

Parkinsonism Related Disorders [2012] Sep 3 [Epub ahead of print] (Oertel W, Lewitt P, Giladi N, Ghys L, Grieger F, Boroojerdi B.) Complete abstract

Although dopamine agonists are sometimes perceived as poorly tolerated by the elderly, there is little clinical evidence to support these concerns. So the safety and tolerability of rotigotine transdermal system have been assessed in four 6-month studies. : two in early Parkinson's Disease and two in advanced Parkinson's Disease. Neupro® (Rotigotine Transdermal System) is a dopamine agonist that is applied to the skin in order to continuously deliver rotigotine over a 24-hour period. For more information go to Neupro.

For most adverse events no age-related differences in were observed. In early Parkinson's Disease those symptoms more common in those younger than 65 in comparison to those who were 65 were : nausea (38% v 30%) and headache (15% v 9%). In another study, amongst older patients, those symptoms more common in those younger than 75 in comparison to those who were 75 were : nausea (36% v 21%), and dizziness (15% v 28%). In people with advanced Parkinson's Disease it was still the younger patients that more commonly had nausea (24% v 19%). Only falls that were more common in older patients (13% v 8%). So oddly, the adverse events of this dopamine agonists were generally less rather than greater with age, as if the adverse events were adapted to. For a printable version of this article click here.  In order to refer to this article on its own click here. 

8th September 2012 - New research

NFL PLAYERS TREBLE THE RISK OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE

Neurology [2012] Sep 5 [Epub ahead of print] (Lehman EJ, Hein MJ, Baron SL, Gersic CM.) Complete abstract

Players in the NFL ("American" Football's National Football League) were found to have treble the risk of haiving a neurodegenerative disease generally. This included Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease and ALS. The figures for Alzheimer's Disease were more than three times more likely, and the figures for ALS were more than four times more likely. The likelihood of developing Parkinson's Disease was less. Research suggests that concussions and repeated blows to the head are likely to blame for the increased risk, but the researcher says multiple studies are needed in order to blame concussions. For a printable version of this article click here.  In order to refer to this article on its own click here.