Prevalence Of Parkinson's Disease Research Articles

Motor and non-motor improvements following short-term multidisciplinary day-clinic care in Parkinson´s disease

BackgroundInpatient as well as outpatient care does often not meet PD-patients’ individual needs.IntroductionDay-clinic concepts encompassing a multidisciplinary team as well as therapy adjustments accompanying everyday demands aim at filling this gap.MethodsThis is a retrospective study on short-term effects of a 3 week multidisciplinary rehabilitation program in patients with Parkinson´s disease (PD) embedded in a specialized movement disorder day-clinic. We analyzed short-term outcome of motor and non-motor symptoms (NMS) in 143 PD-patients (mean age 65.3 ± 11.9 years; Hoehn-and-Yahr-score 2.6 ± 0.7) after 3 weeks with 7.4 ± 1.8 active days of interdisciplinary day-care treatment. Participants attended the day-clinic in groups of five patients at a time. Improvements were evaluated by comparison of standardized physical therapy assessments, disease specific scores for motor symptoms (MDS–UPDRS III), mood (BDI), quality of life (PDQ39, SF36), sleep (PDSS, ESS), impulsiveness (QUIP), apathy (SAS), cognition (MMST), as well as change in medication before and directly after the intervention.ResultsMDS–UPDRS motor score improved significantly by 22.9 ± 21.5% (p < 0.001) and was accompanied by a significant reduction of imbalance, immobility, and weakness ranging between 6% and 17% in standardized physical therapy tests. In addition, all disease-specific non-motor scales improved significantly.ConclusionsA multidisciplinary day-clinic approach can support benefit on motor, non-motor symptoms and QoL in PD-patients. Given the increase in PD incidence and prevalence as well as the significant treatment effects shown here, more day-clinic treatment opportunities ought to be implemented to improve PD treatment adapted to everyday challenges while still reducing costs to the health care system.

Management of advanced Parkinson's disease in Israel: Clinicians viewpoint and action items.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is taking a staggering toll on healthcare systems worldwide, with the bulk of the expenditures invested in the late stages of the disease. Considering the rising life expectancy and the increasing prevalence of PD across the globe, a clear understanding of the early signs and treatment options available for advanced PD (APD), will facilitate tailoring management programs and support services. This task is complicated by the lack of both global consensus in defining APD and standardized care guidelines. This perspective prepared by a panel of movement disorder specialists, proposes to extend and optimize currently accepted PD coding to better reflect the diverse disease manifestations, with emphasis on non-motor features. The panel seeks to promote timely diagnosis by adjustment of evaluation tools for use by community neurologists and suggests modification of eligibility criteria for advanced therapy. Moreover, it advocates multidisciplinary assessments of APD patients to drive personalized, patient-centered and holistic management. Overall, earlier and more targeted intervention is expected to markedly improve patient quality of life.

The Role of Diet and Dietary Patterns in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder associated with diminished nutrition status and decreased quality of life. While the prevalence of PD is expected to increase, no preventative or curative therapy for PD exists at this time. Although nutrition and diet represent modifiable risk factors for reducing chronic disease risk, research on the impact of single nutrients on PD has yielded mixed results. As a result, this single-nutrient approach may be the driving force behind the inconsistency, and a holistic dietary approach may overcome this inconsistency by accounting for the interactions between nutrients. The following review aims to examine the impact of a generally healthy dietary pattern, the protein-restricted diet (PRD), the ketogenic diet (KD), the Mediterranean diet (MD), and the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet on PD risk, progression, and severity. While most of the included studies support the role of diet and dietary patterns in reducing the risk of PD or alleviating PD severity, the inconsistent results and need for further evidence necessitate more research being conducted before making dietary recommendations. Research on the potential beneficial effects of dietary patterns on PD should also investigate potential risks.

Fracture risk in Parkinson's disease according to its severity and duration.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is reported to be associated with a high risk of fractures. Several studies found an association between severity and duration of PD and falls or bone mineral density, but those factors have not been considered in most previous research. The aim of this study was to determine the fracture risk in PD patients according to their disease severity and duration. This population-based, retrospective cohort study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database. The study population included 10,333 patients with prevalent PD and 6,501,464 comparison cohort. Fracture risks according to the prevalence, severity, and duration of PD were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard methods. Fracture risk was elevated in PD patients at all sites compared with controls (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.44-1.56 for any fracture). When comparing fracture sites, hip fractures showed the largest risk increase in PD patients (aHR 2.16, 95% CI 1.95-2.38). Among PD patients, the risk of any fracture increased linearly with PD severity and was highest in patients with severe disease (aHR 1.65, 95% CI 1.53-1.79 compared with controls). Meanwhile, no significant association was observed between PD duration and fracture risk. The prevalence of PD was related to an increased risk of fractures in this nationwide study, and PD severity was linearly associated with fracture risk. PD prevalence and severity should be considered when evaluating the risk factors of fracture in clinical practice.

S809 Impact of Biologics Therapy on the Prevalence of Parkinson’s Disease Among Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Nationwide Population-Based Study

Introduction: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) are chronic progressive disorders that mainly affect different organs: the gut and brain, respectively. Increasing evidence supports reciprocal communication between the enteric and the central nervous system in disease, termed the 'gut-brain axis'. Biologics have been shown to decrease inflammation among IBD patients however the long-term neurological implications remain unclear. We sought to compare the prevalence of PD among individuals with or without IBD and to assess whether PD risk among patients with IBD is altered by biologics therapy. Methods: We used the IBM Explorys clinical database which includes over 74 million de-identified unique patients across 300 hospitals in the United States. Patient were identified using SNOMED and ICD codes. We identified all patients (age >18 years) who were diagnosed with either Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). We investigated the prevalence of PD in IBD patients compared to patients with no IBD. Also, we compared the prevalence of PD between IBD patients with and without anti-TNF therapy. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to evaluate the risk of PD. Results: We identified 249,480 patients with CD and 209,030 patients with UC, of whom 7,180 (2.88%) and 2,700 (1.29%) developed PD, respectively compared to 0.37% in individuals without IBD, (Table) p< 0.0001 to all. Both CD [OR: 7.91; 95% CI: 7.73-8.10] and UC [OR: 3.44; 95%CI: 3.31-3.57] patients had a significantly higher risk of PD compared to patients without IBD. 45,030 (18.0%) patients with CD and 23,110 (11.1%) patients with UC received biologics therapy. Sub-group analysis of the biologics-treated cohort was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing PD in CD [OR: 0.13; 95%CI: 0.11-0.13] and UC [OR: 0.40; 95%CI: 0.34-0.49], respectively (Figure). Conclusion: In this large retrospective study, we found that the prevalence of PD in patients with IBD was significantly higher than the general population. Furthermore, we found that IBD patients treated with biologics were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with PD. These findings may support a role of systemic inflammation in the pathogenesis of both diseases. Further studies are required to determine whether biologics therapy may mitigate PD risk.Figure 1.: Logistic Regression of Parkinson’s disease Risk in IBD, IBD; inflammatory bowel disease. Immunomodulators included Azathioprine, Methotrexate and Mercaptopurine. Other biologics included Natalizumab, Ustekinumab and Vedolizumab. TNF-a Blockers; tumor necrosis factor-alpha blocker. Table 1. - Demographics of patients with IBD and PD Variable Patients with PD No PD With IBD Without IBD N 9050 259900 70129700 18-65 3310 (36.6%) 26610 (10.2%) 47,919,160 (68.3%) >65 5600 (61.9%) 226030 (87.0%) 21,034,720 (30.0%) Female 5210 (57.6%) 112100 (43.1%) 38,353,970 (54.7%) Caucasian 7710 (85.2%) 200420 (77.1%) 37,649,020 (53.7%) T2DM 3160 (34.9%) 74510 (28.7%) 5,575,570 (8.0%) Primary HTN 6200 (68.5%) 174330 (67.1%) 14,014,310 (20.0%) Hyperlipidemia 7700 (85.1%) 144590 (55.6%) 11,635,480 (16.6%) Obesity 2700 (29.8%) 36170 (13.9%) 5,404,010 (7.7%) Tobacco Abuse 3710 (41.0%) 22280 (8.6%) 3,789,760 (5.4%) Cannabis Abuse 280 (3.1%) 1540 (0.6%) 528,780 (0.75%) Alcohol Abuse 670 (7.4%) 6530 (2.5%) 1,083,540 (1.55%) Carbidopa-levodopa 2030 (22.4%) 130470 (50.2%) NA Dopamine agonists 2470 (27.3%) 145230 (55.9%) NA MAO-B inhibitors 310 (3.4%) 22630 (8.7%) NA IBD; inflammatory bowel disease, PD; Parkinson’s disease, T2DM; type 2 diabetes mellitus; HTN; hypertension, MAO-B inhibitors; mono-amine oxidase B inhibitors.

Respiratory deficits in a female rat model of Parkinson's disease.

What is the central question of this study? How does the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced Parkinson's disease model affect the respiratory response in female rats? What effect does ovariectomy have on that response? What is the main finding and its importance? The results suggest a protective effect of ovarian hormones in maintaining normal neuroanatomical integrity of the medullary respiratory nucleus in females. It was observed that ovariectomy alone reduced neurokinin-1 density in the pre-Bötzinger complex and Bötzinger complex, and there was an incremental effect of 6-OHDA and ovariectomy on retrotrapezoid nucleus neurons. Emerging evidence indicates that the course of Parkinson's disease (PD) includes autonomic and respiratory deficiencies in addition to the classical motor symptoms. The prevalence of PD is lower in women, and it has been hypothesized that neuroprotection by ovarian hormones can explain this difference. While male PD animal models present changes in the central respiratory control areas, as well as ventilatory parameters under normoxia and hypercapnia, little is known about sex differences regarding respiratory deficits in this disease background. This study aimed to explore the neuroanatomical and functional respiratory changes in intact and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats subjected to chemically induced PD via a bilateral intrastriatal injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The respiratory parameters were evaluated by whole-body plethysmography, and the neuroanatomy was monitored using immunohistochemistry. It was found that dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and neurokinin-1 receptor density in the rostral ventrolateral respiratory group, Bötzinger and pre-Bötzinger complex were reduced in the chemically induced PD animals. Additionally, reduced numbers of Phox2b neurons were only observed in the retrotrapezoid nucleus of PD-OVX rats. Concerning respiratory parameters, in OVX rats, the resting and hypercapnia-induced tidal volume (VT ) is reduced, and ventilation ( ) changes independently of 6-OHDA administration. Notably, there is a reduction in the number of retrotrapezoid nucleus Phox2b neurons and hypercapnia-induced respiratory changes in PD-OVX animals due to a 6-OHDA and OVX interaction. These results suggest a protective effect induced by ovarian hormones in neuroanatomical changes observed in a female experimental PD model.

Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease in practice: results of the survey by the Italian Neurosurgery Society.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a safe and effective treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) and many neurosurgical centers in Italy have a DBS program. Considering the prevalence of PD and criteria for DBS implantation, about 3200-10,350 PD patients may benefit from DBS in Italy. The global management of patients underwent DBS is complex and it can be supposed that many differences exist between centers in clinical practice. The Italian Neurosurgery Society (SINch) designed this survey to investigate the state of the art of DBS for PD in Italy. A 26-item closed-ended question survey was designed and sanded by email at all Italian Neurosurgery centers. The main topic investigated was DBS teams, anatomical target selection, surgical procedure, neuroimaging, intraoperative target localization, DBS device and patients' follow-up. A total of 23 neurosurgery centers completed the survey. There are mainly low-to medium-volume centers (<20 annual DBS procedures) with dedicated DBS teams. The principal anatomical target used is subthalamic nucleus (STN) and, relative to the surgical technique, it emerges that in Italy DBS are bilaterally implanted in a single-step session with awake anesthesia and with frame-based technique. Final leads positioning is defined by microelectrode recordings (MER) and microstimulation (MS), with limited role of intraoperative neuroimaging (MRI and O-Arm). The stimulation is started at 15 or 30 days from procedure. Many centers of neurosurgery in Italy have a well-established DBS program for patients with advanced PD and some practical differences in technique between centers exist. Further investigation is needed to investigate specific criteria for selecting one technique over another.

Antibiotic Consumption Patterns in European Countries Are Associated with the Prevalence of Parkinson's Disease; the Possible Augmenting Role of the Narrow-Spectrum Penicillin.

Parkinson’s disease: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting at least 0.3% of the worldwide population and over 3% of those over 80 years old. According to recent research (2018), in 2016, 6.1 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 5.0–7.3) individuals had Parkinson’s disease globally, compared with 2.5 million (2.0–3.0) in 1990. The pandemic-like spreading of PD is considered a slow-moving disaster. Most recent studies indicated the possible role of an altered microbiome, dysbiosis, in the development of PD, which occurs long before the clinical diagnosis of PD. Antibiotics are considered as major disruptors of the intestinal flora and we have hypothesized that, as different classes of antibiotics might induce different dysbiosis, certain classes of antibiotics could trigger the PD-related dysbiosis as well. Comparative analyses were performed between the average yearly antibiotic consumption of 30 European countries (1997–2016) and the PD prevalence database (estimated for 2016). We divided the time frame of antibiotic consumption of 1997–2016 into four subsections to estimate the possible time lapse between antibiotic exposure and the prevalence, prevalence change, and PD-related death rates estimated for 2016. Our results indicated that countries with high consumption of narrow-spectrum penicillin experienced a higher increase in PD prevalence than the others. Countries reporting a decline in PD from 1990 to 2016 demonstrated a reduction in the consumption of narrow-spectrum penicillin in this period.

Lifestyle Interventions for the Prevention of Parkinson Disease: A Recipe for Action.

The prevalence of Parkinson disease (PD) is growing fast, amplifying the quest for disease-modifying therapies in early disease phases where pathology is still limited. Lifestyle interventions offer a promising avenue for preventing progression from prodromal to manifest PD. We illustrate this primarily for 1 specific lifestyle intervention, namely aerobic exercise because the case for the other main lifestyle factor (dietary interventions) to modify the course of prodromal PD is currently less persuasive. Various observations have hinted at the disease-modifying potential of exercise. First, studies in rodents with experimental parkinsonism showed that exercise elicits adaptive neuroplasticity in basal ganglia circuitries. Second, exercise is associated with a reduced risk of developing PD, suggesting a disease-modifying potential. Third, 2 large trials in persons with manifest PD indicate that exercise can help to stabilize motor parkinsonism, although this could also reflect a symptomatic effect. In addition, exercise seems to be a feasible intervention, given its minimal risk of side effects. Theoretical risks include an increase in fall incidents and cardiovascular complications, but these concerns seem to be acceptably low. Innovative approaches using gamification elements indicate that adequate long-term compliance with regular exercise programs can be achieved, although more work remains necessary to demonstrate enduring adherence for multiple years. Advances in digital technology can be used to deliver the exercise intervention in the participant's own living environment and also to measure the outcomes remotely, which will help to further boost long-term compliance. When delivering exercise to prodromal participants, outcome measures should focus not just on phenoconversion to manifest PD (which may well take many years to occur) but also on measurable intermediate outcomes, such as physical fitness or prodromal nonmotor symptoms. Taken together, there seems to be sufficient evidence to advocate the first judicious attempt of investigating exercise as a disease-modifying treatment in prodromal PD.

Affective disorders and сognitive impairment in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease

Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disease in developed countries. The prevalence of PD ranges from 41 per 100,000 in the fourth decade of life to more than 1,900 per 100,000 in people over 80 years of age. Neurodegeneration associated with Parkinson's disease probably occurs several decades before the onset of motor symptoms. Affective and cognitive impairments are one of the most frequent non-motor manifestations of PD, which can lead to a number of adverse outcomes. Aim: to evaluate affective and cognitive impairments in patients at the early stages of PD. Methods: 61 patients with PD participated in the study. All the participants were divided into two groups depending on the presence or absence of a diagnosis of depression verified by psychiatrists: Group 1 was the main group (n=48), group 2 was the control group (n=13). The control group included patients without depression. The average age of the participants was 62.29.6 years. The analysis of the PD stages was carried out in both groups. In the main group, stage II PD was diagnosed in 75%, in the control group in 31% of patients. The average duration of the disease was 2.51.6 years. A clinical examination was carried out using the Beck depression questionnaire, apathy scale, Spielberger anxiety questionnaire and anxiety assessment scale in PD (to assess emotional disorders), cognitive function assessment scale in PD (SHOBP-Cog, Scopa-Cog), digital symbol replacement test (symbols-numbers test), Montreal assessment Scale cognitive functions (MoCA test), a test for connecting numbers and letters, and a Stroop test (for evaluating cognitive functions). Results: It was revealed that in the early stages of PD, the prevalence of depression, clinically significant apathy, personal and reactive anxiety was high. Significantly higher rates of depression severity, depression level, apathy level and personal anxiety were noted among the patients with stage II PD compared to the patients with stage I PD. There was a marked tendency to a decrease in cognitive functions at stage I of PD, aggravated at stage II of the disease, which was confirmed by the results of the tests: a low level of cognitive functions on the Montreal scale was detected in 52%; 70% of patients, regardless of the PD stage, showed a low rate of completion of the 1st and 2nd parts of the Stroop test for their age; the results of the digital character replacement test were below normal in 75% of cases. Conclusion: The most common affective disorders in the early stages of PD are depression and anxiety. Apathy and depression have a negative impact on the cognitive functions of patients, which worsen with the progression of the disease.

Modulation of cellular redox environment as a novel therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an incurable neurodegenerative movement disorder. PD affects 2% of the population above 65 years old; however, with the growing number of senior citizens, PD prevalence is predicted to increase in the following years. Pathologically, PD is characterized by dopaminergic cell neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra, resulting in decreased dopamine levels in the nigrostriatal pathway, triggering motor symptoms. Although the pathological mechanisms leading to PD are still unclear, large evidence indicates that oxidative stress plays an important role, not only because it increases with age which is the most significant risk factor for PD development, but also as a result of alterations in several processes, particularly mitochondria dysfunction. The modulation of oxidative stress, especially using dietary mitochondriotropic antioxidants, represents a promising approach to prevent or treat PD. Although most mitochondria-targeted antioxidants with beneficial effects in PD-associated models have failed to show any therapeutic benefit in clinical trials, several questions remain to be clarified. Hereby, we review the role played by oxidative stress in PD pathogenesis, emphasizing mitochondria as reactive oxygen species (ROS) producers and as targets for oxidative stress-related dysfunctional mechanisms. In addition, we also describe the importance of using dietary-based mitochondria-targeted antioxidants as a valuable strategy to counteract the deleterious effects of ROS in pre-clinical and/or clinical trials of PD, pointing out their significance to slow, and possibly halt, the progression of PD.

182-LB: Delayed Onset of Parkinson’s Disease among Type 2 Diabetes Subjects—Data from an Observational Study

Background and aim: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative movement disorder. Treatment aims at symptoms control and prevention of complications. Although type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a well-established risk factor for cerebrovascular diseases, evidence is lacking with regards to the possible association between T2D and PD. With the present study we aimed at investigating the prevalence and relative time of occurrence of T2D in a cohort of PD patients from an Italian tertiary level center and compare it with the Italian general population. Methods: For this retrospective observational study, the database of the Parkinson Institute ASST Pini-CTO in Milan was queried. We have selected from the database to include and analyze in the study the records of consecutive patients with an established diagnosis of PD based on the UK Parkinson disease Brain Bank criteria followed at our Institute over a 10-year period, from January 2010 to December 2019. Results: A total of 8380 patients were included in the study. At the last follow-up visit, 673 (8.4%) PD patients had T2D. Standardized prevalence of T2D was lower among PD patients compared to the Italian general population (3.8 % vs. 5.3%, p&amp;lt;.05) . Age at PD onset was approximately 67 years in those who had already diagnosed with T2D, a higher mean onset age of 7 years compared with both PD patients with later occurrence of T2D and PD patients without T2D (p&amp;lt;.001) . A multivariate regression analysis showed that PD onset in patients who had T2D for seven years or less was delayed by an average of 2.7 years, while patients with a T2D duration for over seven years displayed a mean delay of 5.7 years compared with patients without T2D before PD onset (p&amp;lt;.001) . Discussion: As per our knowledge so far no other conditions or agents are associated with a delay in the onset of PD. Data from this study show that patients with T2D have a significant delay in PD onset. Causes may be further investigated looking at treatments, hormones, metabolic changes and dietary regimen of T2D. Whether this delay has an impact on the prevalence of PD in the T2D population, remains unclear and need to be studied. Disclosure S. Colosimo: None. E. Cereda: None. F. Del Sorbo: None. D. Calandrella: None. M. Barichella: None. G. Pezzoli: None. Funding Fondazione Grigioni per il Parkinson, Brain and Malnutrition in Chronic Diseases Association

An Overview of Parkinson's Disease: Curcumin as a Possible Alternative Treatment.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain and basal ganglia, followed by dopamine deficiency in the brain. Dopamine plays a crucial role in motor coordination, memory, and cognition; its decrease in PD leads to dyskinesia, cognitive deficits, and depression. In addition, the formation of alpha-synuclein protein aggregates (Lewy bodies) causes further damage to the CNS. Current treatment options include dopamine precursors, inhibitors of dopamine metabolism, upregulation of autophagy, adenosine A2A antagonists, and surgical intervention as a last resort. A challenge arises from a progressive decrease in treatment efficacy as the disease progresses and this necessitates exploration of adjunctive treatments. Epidemiological studies suggest that the prevalence of PD varies between ethnic groups of Caucasians, Asians, and African Americans. Notably, the prevalence of PD is lower in countries of Southeastern Asia including India. The differences in the diet of various ethnic groups may suggest an origin for this difference in the prevalence of PD. One staple ingredient in traditional Asian cuisine is turmeric. Curcuma longa, popularly known as turmeric, is an orange tuberous rhizome that has been used for centuries in traditional Indian cuisine and traditional medicine. Turmeric contains curcumin, a potent antioxidant that scavenges reactive oxygen species and chelates toxic metals. Curcumin has been proposed to be a neuroprotective agent due to its potent antioxidative properties. Though preliminary studies in animal model systems have suggested a protective effect of curcumin on dopaminergic neurons, the direct benefits of curcumin on the progress of PD remains poorly understood. In this review, we explore the promising use of curcumin as an adjunct to conventional PD treatments in order to enhance treatment and improve outcomes.

Dietary fat intake and risk of Parkinson disease: results from the Swedish National March Cohort

BackgroundFollowing progressive aging of the population worldwide, the prevalence of Parkinson disease is expected to increase in the next decades. Primary prevention of the disease is hampered by limited knowledge of preventable causes. Recent evidence regarding diet and Parkinson disease is inconsistent and suggests that dietary habits such as fat intake may have a role in the etiology.ObjectiveTo investigate the association between intake of total and specific types of fat with the incidence of Parkinson disease.MethodsParticipants from the Swedish National March Cohort were prospectively followed-up from 1997 to 2016. Dietary intake was assessed at baseline using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Food items intake was used to estimate fat intake, i.e. the exposure variable, using the Swedish Food Composition Database. Total, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat intake were categorized into quartiles. Parkinson disease incidence was ascertained through linkages to Swedish population-based registers. Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the association between fat intake from total or specific types of fats and the incidence of Parkinson disease. The lowest intake category was used as reference. Isocaloric substitution models were also fitted to investigate substitution effects by replacing energy from fat intake with other macronutrients or specific types of fat.Results41,597 participants were followed up for an average of 17.6 years. Among them, 465 developed Parkinson disease. After adjusting for potential confounders, the highest quartile of saturated fat intake was associated with a 41% increased risk of Parkinson disease compared to the lowest quartile (HR Q4 vs. Q1: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.04–1.90; p for trend: 0.03). Total, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fat intake were not significantly associated with Parkinson disease. The isocaloric substitution models did not show any effect.ConclusionsWe found that a higher consumption of large amounts of saturated fat might be associated with an increased risk of Parkinson disease. A diet low in saturated fat might be beneficial for disease prevention.

A nationwide study of the incidence, prevalence and mortality of Parkinson\u2019s disease in the Norwegian population

Epidemiological studies of Parkinson’s disease (PD) show variable and partially conflicting findings with regard to incidence, prevalence, and mortality. These differences are commonly attributed to technical and methodological factors, including small sample sizes, differences in diagnostic practices, and population heterogeneity. We leveraged the Norwegian Prescription Database, a population-based registry of drug prescriptions dispensed from Norwegian pharmacies to assess the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of PD in Norway. The diagnosis of PD was defined based on the prescription of dopaminergic drugs for the indication of PD over a continuous time. During 2004–2017, 12,229 males and 9831 females met our definition for PD diagnosis. PD prevalence increased over the observation period, with larger changes observed in the older age groups. Incidence and prevalence of PD increased with age, peaking at 85 years. The male/female prevalence ratio was 1.5 across all ages, whereas the incidence ratio increased with age, from 1.4 in those 60 years, to 2.03 among those >90 years. While PD mortality was generally higher than that of the general population, mortality odds ratios decreased with age, approaching 1.0 among individuals >90 years old. When adjusted for the sex-specific mortality of the general population, the mortality among females with PD was equal to or higher than the mortality among males with PD. Our findings demonstrate that the epidemiological features of PD, including sex-differences, are age and time-period dependent and indicate that sex differences in PD mortality are unlikely to stem from disease-specific negative impact of survival in males.

Parkinson Disease: Epidemiology, Pathology, and Clinical Diagnosis

Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer disease. PD predominantly affects elderly people, and most countries are now facing a marked demographic change, with a progressively larger proportion of the population reaching old age. Thus, PD is expected to cause an increasing social and economic burden on society in the near future. The causes of PD are still mostly unknown. There has been a substantial progress in our understanding of the genetic basis of PD in the past 15 years; however, these mutations explain only a small fraction of all PD cases and other non-genetic factors may play a role. This review covers the epidemiology, pathology, and clinical diagnosis of PD. Figures show age-specific incidence of PD, age-specific prevalence of PD, PD risks for exposures reported in high-quality studies, PD and atypical parkinsonism clinical features, and neuroimaging alterations in PD and atypical parkinsonism. Tables list factors associated with increased or decreased risk of PD, Braak staging scheme of α-synuclein pathology in PD, United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank clinical diagnostic for PD, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke diagnostic criteria for PD, differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes, and “atypical” atypical parkinsonism.

Parkinson Disease: Epidemiology, Pathology, and Clinical Diagnosis

Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder after Alzheimer disease. PD predominantly affects elderly people, and most countries are now facing a marked demographic change, with a progressively larger proportion of the population reaching old age. Thus, PD is expected to cause an increasing social and economic burden on society in the near future. The causes of PD are still mostly unknown. There has been a substantial progress in our understanding of the genetic basis of PD in the past 15 years; however, these mutations explain only a small fraction of all PD cases and other non-genetic factors may play a role. This review covers the epidemiology, pathology, and clinical diagnosis of PD. Figures show age-specific incidence of PD, age-specific prevalence of PD, PD risks for exposures reported in high-quality studies, PD and atypical parkinsonism clinical features, and neuroimaging alterations in PD and atypical parkinsonism. Tables list factors associated with increased or decreased risk of PD, Braak staging scheme of α-synuclein pathology in PD, United Kingdom Parkinson’s Disease Society Brain Bank clinical diagnostic for PD, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke diagnostic criteria for PD, differential diagnosis of parkinsonian syndromes, and “atypical” atypical parkinsonism.

A Community-based study on the prevalence and predisposing factors of Parkinson’s disease in Barangay Mangilag Sur, Quezon Province, Philippines

IntroductionPrevalence of Parkinson’s Disease (PD) in the Philippines has been estimated to be < 1 % based on a 2007 nationwide survey conducted by the Philippine Neurological Association, but without case ascertainment. Since there is still paucity of data, we aim to determine the prevalence of PD in a rural community and the possible predisposing factors on the development of the disease. MethodsThis is a two-phase descriptive study which investigated the prevalence of PD and associated risk factors in a randomly selected rural community in Candelaria, Quezon Province. A validated screening questionnaire was utilized, and case ascertainment was done in eligible respondents. ResultsA total of 365 respondents aged ≥ 20 years were randomly surveyed from 2016 to 2017. Two cases of PD aged ≥ 60 years were reported. Thus, the prevalence of PD in the community was 0.55 %. Age-specific prevalence of PD among individuals ≥ 60 years was 4.35 %.Insecticide use was infrequent in the community and was recorded in one PD patient. Protective factors like smoking and drinking tea were not observed in both cases whereas coffee intake was reported in one PD patient. ConclusionThis community-based epidemiologic study on PD is consistent with a nationwide study. The study portrayed certain demographic and environmental features inherent in a community, which are potential confounding variables in PD development. Future larger population studies be recommended to establish PD in the advancing age and to further support the link of various factors with PD.

COVID-19: The cynosure of rise of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common age-related disorders globally. The pathophysiological mechanisms and precipitating factors underlying PD manifestations, including genetic and environmental parameters, inflammation/stress and ageing, remain elusive. Speculations about whether the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic could be a pivotal factor in affecting the prevalence and severity of PD or triggering a wave of new-onset parkinsonism in both the near and distant future have recently become very popular, with researchers wondering if there is a changing trend in current parkinsonism cases. Could the current understanding of the Covid-19 pathophysiology provide clues for an impending rise of parkinsonism cases in the future? Are there any lessons to learn from previous pandemics? Our aim was to look into these questions and available current literature in order to investigate if Covid-19 could constitute a cardinal event affecting the parkinsonism landscape.

Update on Parkinson's Disease Rehabilitation.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder. Although dopaminergic drugs are the mainstay for improving PD symptoms, there are still few effective disease-modifying therapies. With the increasing prevalence of PD and the rapid transition to an aging society, more emphasis needs to be placed on rehabilitation that could slow the disease progression combined with pharmacological therapy. In this review, we present an update on evidence related to rehabilitation programs for motor function, swallowing difficulty, and speech disorders in PD. Aerobic exercise, music therapy, dance, virtual reality, and non-invasive brain stimulation have been shown to improve motor function, and telerehabilitation could also be feasibly applied in PD. Recent studies have shown the effectiveness of expiratory muscle strengthening exercises and Lee Silverman Voice Treatment for swallowing difficulty and speech disorders, respectively. Although many rehabilitation programs have been tried, the evidence is still limited. Well-designed future randomized controlled trials with large numbers of participants are needed to establish evidence for rehabilitation in PD.