Parkinsonism & related disorders
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Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Aug 2010
Affective and cognitive Theory of Mind in patients with parkinson's disease.
Theory of Mind (ToM), which is the ability to infer other people's mental states such as beliefs or desires, is an important prerequisite for social interaction. Affective and cognitive subcomponents of ToM can be impaired selectively in neurological and psychiatric disorders. This study examines ToM in 21 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and 21 healthy control (HC) subjects, using the computerized "Yoni task" that assesses affective and cognitive ToM abilities and an extensive battery of neuropsychological tests. ⋯ Parkinson patients are impaired in affective as well as cognitive ToM. These deficits are largely independent from other cognitive impairments, depressive symptoms and motor impairment. The relationship of affective ToM to the health-related quality of life of PD patients points to a clinical relevance of this issue and suggests that ToM dysfunctions must be regarded as an important non-motor feature of Parkinson's disease.
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Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Aug 2010
Review Historical ArticleDeep brain stimulation for movement disorders before DBS for movement disorders.
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established surgical treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor and dystonia. It is generally acknowledged that the development of DBS as we know it today started with the publication of Benabid, Pollak et al in 1987 on thalamic DBS for tremor. This technique gained momentum in the mid-Nineties after that Pollak and Benabid introduced the subthalamic nucleus as a target in advanced PD. ⋯ In the late 70s and early 80s the term Deep Brain Stimulation was coined and few groups attempted treatment of Parkinson's disease, non-Parkinsonian tremor and dystonia with high-frequency stimulation using chronically implanted DBS systems. Cumbersome, un-sophisticated DBS hardware, together with the general decline of all surgery for PD following the introduction of levodopa, may have contributed to the lack of popularity of old-times DBS. It is to the credit of the Grenoble Group to have reinvented, modernised and expanded modern DBS in surgical treatment of movement disorders.
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Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Jun 2010
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyLong-term efficacy and safety of botulinum toxin type A (Dysport) in cervical dystonia.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intramuscular (IM) administration of botulinum toxin type A (Dysport((R)), Ipsen Biopharm Ltd.) for the treatment of cervical dystonia (CD) and the long-term safety and efficacy of repeated treatments. During the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase patients were randomized to 500 units Dysport (n = 55) or placebo (n = 61). Efficacy assessments included the Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale (TWSTRS) total and subscale scores, visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, subject/investigator's VAS for symptom assessments. ⋯ The mean duration between treatment cycles was 15-17 weeks. Dysport demonstrated a good long-term safety profile; most adverse events were mild or moderate and typical of the known safety profile of Dysport in this indication. These results confirm that Dysport (500 units) is safe, effective, and well-tolerated in patients with CD.
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Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Mar 2010
Comment Letter Case ReportsConjugal parkinsonism: multiple system atrophy and Parkinson's disease.
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Parkinsonism Relat. Disord. · Feb 2010
The safety of transcranial magnetic stimulation with deep brain stimulation instruments.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been employed in patients with an implanted deep brain stimulation (DBS) device. We investigated the safety of TMS using simulation models with an implanted DBS device. ⋯ Strong TMS on the looped DBS leads should not be administered to avoid electrical tissue injury. Subcutaneous lead position should be paid enough attention for forthcoming situations during surgery.