Parkinsonism & related disorders
-
Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Sep 2005
Clinical TrialQuality of life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire (QUEST): development and initial validation.
Essential tremor (ET) can diminish functioning and quality of life (QOL) but generic QOL measures may be relatively insensitive to ET and its therapies. We sought to develop an ET-specific measure that might be more sensitive, acceptable to patients, relatively brief, and easily used. ⋯ A brief, 30-item, ET-specific QOL scale with excellent reliability was developed. Preliminary validity data are encouraging. The Quality of Life in Essential Tremor Questionnaire (QUEST) promises to facilitate QOL measurement in ET.
-
Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Sep 2005
Case ReportsElectroconvulsive therapy for depression in a Parkinson's disease patient with bilateral subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulators.
We report a patient with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) who developed a recurrence of major depression with psychotic features after bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) dramatically improved the depression without shifting electrode position or damaging the DBS hardware. This case suggests that ECT can be a safe and effective option for severe depression in PD patients treated with STN DBS.