In the context of a research project aiming at investigating the relationships between speech disorders, quality of life and social participation in Parkinson's Disease (PD), we report here on an acoustic study of glides and steady vowels by non dysarthric parkinsonian and control speakers. Our specific aim is to explore the dynamics of supra-laryngeal articulators in PD. Results suggest that n...

The diagnosis of movement disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD) and essential tremor is determined through clinical assessment. The difficulty with diagnosis of early PD has been highlighted in several recent clinical trials. Studies have suggested relatively high clinical diagnostic error rates for PD and essential tremor. This review was undertaken to clarify the utility of DaT-SPECT i...

Genetic factors have been known to contribute to familial Parkinson's disease (PD), one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders. During the past decade, six of eleven causative genes linked to familial forms of PD have been identified to associate with autosomal-recessive young-onset Levodopa-responsive parkinsonism. Among these genes, mutations in Parkin, PINKl and DJ-1 are associated w...

With the ability to study brain anatomy in vivo using magnetic resonance imaging, studies on regional brain atrophy suggest possible improvements for differential diagnosis of movement disorders with parkinsonian symptoms. In this study, we investigate effects of different parkinsonian syndromes on the cortical gray matter thickness and the geometric shape of the cerebral cortex. The study cons...

The common denominator of virtually all disorders associated with clinical parkinsonism is neuronal loss in the substantia nigra, particularly of dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta that project to the striatum (Fig. 1). The ventrolateral tier of neurons appears to be the most vulnerable in many parkinsonian disorders, and these tend to project heavily to the putamen (1). The more medial ...

In patients with Parkinson’s disease, cognitive impairment is common, may be detectable in early disease stages, even in young patients, and may progress to overt dementia. In addition, a variety of psychiatric and behavioural symptoms may occur in Parkinsonian patients, including depression, apathy, anxiety, visual hallucinations, sleep disorders, impulse control disorders, punding and the dop...

The discovery of SNCA mutations pathogenic for autosomal-dominant Lewy body Parkinson's disease (PD) in 1997 heralded a revolution in understanding the molecular and genetic basis of PD. Indeed, it now is clear that Lewy body PD is one of many neurodegenerative parkinsonian disorders that result from nigrostriatal degeneration caused by diverse mechanisms. However, to capitalize on these new in...

Developing technologies for understanding the functioning of brain and treating neurological disorders is an important area research in neuroscience. Devices that form neural interfaces have a significant contribution progressing this field. Technological advancements driven by microfabrication techniques materials innovation led to developing new class engineered microelectrode devices. These ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Hand tremor has been rarely described as a manifestation of stroke. CASE DESCRIPTIONS Three patients developed delayed onset hand tremor due to cerebral infarctions on the contralateral side, two in the caudate nucleus and the third in the thalamus. The tremors of all three patients were similar to parkinsonian tremor, but less monotonous. CONCLUSIONS Delayed-onset ha...

OBJECTIVE To determine if blood neurofilament light chain (NfL) protein can discriminate between Parkinson disease (PD) and atypical parkinsonian disorders (APD) with equally high diagnostic accuracy as CSF NfL, and can therefore improve the diagnostic workup of parkinsonian disorders. METHODS The study included 3 independent prospective cohorts: the Lund (n = 278) and London (n = 117) cohort...