Speech Impairment, Phonation, Writing, Salivation, and Swallowing in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease

Introduction Parkinson’s disease (PD) can influence the function of respiration, phonation and articulation, quality of speech, swallowing, salivation, and graphomotor skills

Effects of dance therapy on balance, gait and neuro-psychological performances in patients with Parkinson's disease and postural instability

Postural Instability (PI) is a core feature of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and a major cause of falls and disabilities. Impairment of executive functions has been called as an aggravating factor on motor performances. Dance therapy has been shown effective for improving gait and has been suggested as an alternative rehabilitative method. To evaluate gait performance, spatial-temporal (S-T) gait parameters and cognitive performances in a cohort of patients with PD and PI modifications in balance after a cycle of dance therapy

Evaluation of basal ganglia haemodynamic changes with perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in patients with Parkinson's disease

The aim of our study was to assess the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) of basal ganglia and thalami in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) using perfusion–weighted magnetic resonance imaging (PW–MRI)

The effect of art therapy on the degree of depression and the outcomes of Parkinson’s disease treatment

According to various studies, depression occurs in a large percentage of patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD). In some cases, it appears as the first symptom and significantly impairs the patient’s quality of life

Sustained attention training reduces spatial bias in Parkinson’s disease: a pilot case series

Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) commonly demonstrate lateralized spatial biases, which affect daily functioning. Those with PD with initial motor symptoms on the left body side (LPD) have reduced leftward attention, whereas PD with initial motor symptoms on the right side (RPD) may display reduced rightward attention. We investigated whether a sustained attention training program could help reduce these spatial biases. Four non-demented individuals with PD (2 LPD, 2 RPD) performed a visual search task before and after 1 month of computer training. Before training, all participants showed a significant spatial bias and after training, all participants’ spatial bias was eliminated.Published versio

La visión parkinsoniana de la figura compleja de Rey-Osterrieth

Visuospatial impairment has been frequently reported in Parkinson’s disease (PD). We present the progressive distorsioned performance of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure in parkinsonian patients at different stages of the disease (PD de novo, PD on long-term treatment, PD with phychosis and PD with dementia

Analysis of temporal gait features extracted from accelerometer-based signals during ambulatory walking in Parkinson’s disease

Objective: To perform a proof-of-concept study showing the utility of versatile algorithms aimed at objectively quantifying the duration of refined gait features during ambulatory walking in a patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in ON and OFF medication states as compared with an age-matched control subject

An Intervening Ethical Governor for a Robot Mediator in Patient-Caregiver Relationships

© Springer International Publishing AG 2015DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-46667-5_6Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) experience challenges when interacting with caregivers due to their declining control over their musculature. To remedy those challenges, a robot mediator can be used to assist in the relationship between PD patients and their caregivers. In this context, a variety of ethical issues can arise. To overcome one issue in particular, providing therapeutic robots with a robot architecture that can ensure patients’ and caregivers’ dignity is of potential value. In this paper, we describe an intervening ethical governor for a robot that enables it to ethically intervene, both to maintain effective patient–caregiver relationships and prevent the loss of dignity

Parallel PARKing: Parkinson’s Genes Function in Common Pathway

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with diverse genetic and environmental susceptibilities. Functional connections between PD genes have remained elusive. In this issue of Neuron, MacLeod et al. (2013) link three PD susceptibility genes, LRRK2, PARK16, and VSP35, to a common cellular pathway and show how these deficits contribute to dysfunction