The motor performance test series in Parkinson's disease is influenced by depression

Summary The Motor Performance Test Series (MPTS) is widely used for treatment control in Parkinson's disease (PD). To elucidate the possible influence of depression on the fine motor skills in PD, 54 patients with idiopathic PD were investigated with the MPTS. 27 patients with major intensity of depression were compared to 27 age and motor disability matched patients with minor symptoms of depression, evaluated by the Zung depression scale. As determined by the subtest aiming, a significant lower ability for precise, quick complex arm-hand movements in depressed Parkinsonian patients was found. This result may be explained partly by motivation deficits in depressed patients with PD. On the other hand impairment of special motor loops including frontal lobe projections to specific thalamic subnuclei or to the caudate nucleus may cause disturbances of the subtest aiming in depressed Parkinsonian patients. On the basis of these findings impaired aiming may be explained by diminished ability for complex, semivoluntary movements in depressive Parkinsonian patients. The influence of psychiatric comorbidity on MPTS subtest aiming has to be considered in further therapy studies using evaluation of motor deficits by MPTS.     

帕金森病运动症状偏侧化的研究进展

帕金森病(PD)是一种以运动症状为主要表现的神经退行性疾病,常单侧起病,不同侧别的运动症状在疾病发展速度、非运动症状类型和治疗反应等方面存在差异。本文现围绕PD运动症状偏侧化的临床特点、潜在机制、影像表现及治疗差异等内容综述如下,以期为PD临床诊疗提供一定依据。     

帕金森病患者视空间障碍及其相关因素的分析

目的 探讨帕金森病(PD)患者视空间障碍情况及其与相关因素的关系. 方法 选择自2007年4月至6月在广州6家医院门诊或住院部连续就诊并且同意参与本次调查的PD患者共107例,用复制立方体评估PD患者的视空间能力,并选用Hoehn-Yahr分级、PD统一评分量表第2部分(UPDRS-Ⅱ)、UPDRS-Ⅲ、UPDRS-Ⅴ、汉密尔顿焦虑量表(HAMA)、汉密尔顿抑郁量表(HRSD)、Fuld物体记忆测验(FOM)、言语流畅性测验(RVR)、韦氏成人智力量表积木测验(WAIS-BD)、韦氏成人量表数字广度测验(WAIS-DS)、简易精神状态量表(MMSE)、神经精神科问卷(NPI)、睡眠量表、Epworth嗜睡量表(ESS)、非运动并发症等量表评估PD患者的运动症状、神经精神症状、认知及日常生活能力.用Spearman相关分析分析视空间能力与各相关因素的双变量相关性,用二分类Logistic回归分析视空间障碍与相关因素的关系. 结果 在107例PD患者中有59例(55.14%)出现视空间损害.Spearman相关分析表明,视空间能力与发病年龄、性别、Hoehn-Yahr分级、病程、UPDRS-Ⅱ、UPDRS-Ⅲ、FOM、RVR、WISC-BD、WAIS-DS、焦虑状态、痴呆等相关(P＜0.05).经二分类Logistic回归分析发现.Hoehn-Yahr分级及病程是视空间障碍的危险因素,而RVR及WISC-BD是视空间障碍的保护因素. 结论 PD患者视空间障碍的发生可能与病情分级、病程、语言流畅性、图像识别及构造能力等有关,临床上可以通过改善患者运动症状及训练患者的语言能力、图像识别及构造能力等综合治疗来改善患者的视空间能力.     

Impairment of complex upper limb motor function in de novo Parkinson's disease

The aim of the present study was to evaluate complex upper limb motor function in newly diagnosed, untreated Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.

Four different unimanual upper limb motor tasks were applied to 13 newly diagnosed, untreated PD patients and 13 age- and sex-matched controls.

In a handwriting task, PD patients had significantly reduced sentence length and writing velocity, and decreasing letter height in the course of writing. Furthermore, PD patients performed an aiming task slower with than without target, and showed increased transposition in a pointing task.

The results of this study extend previous observations of impaired complex upper limb movements to newly diagnosed, untreated PD patients.     

Early-occurrence of manual motor blocks in Parkinson's disease: a quantitative assessment

OBJECTIVES: Quantitative analysis of internally-cued, repetitive motor performance in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Computerized quantitative measurements of the frequency, duration and temporal profile of manual motor blocks (MMBs) during performance of a manual tapping task, in 39 patients with PD, as compared to 17 age-matched healthy controls. RESULTS: Performance of PD patients was markedly abnormal both quantitatively and qualitatively, as reflected by an increase (7.0% vs. 4.6%) in MMBs, and by their occurrence from onset of movement. The phenomenon was already observed in the early stages of the disease, and was also correlated with the occurrence of freezing of gait. A standard levodopa-carbidopa (125-12.5 mg) dose only partially affected this phenomenon. CONCLUSIONS: Augmented motor blocks in internally-cued performance should be recognized as a frequent, distinct and generalized feature of PD. Whereas the gait disorder is regarded as characteristic of the advanced stage of PD, our findings suggest that the basic defect in internal rhythm formation can be detected by sensitive measurement tools from the early stages of the disease. In addition, the methodology developed in this study to quantitatively measure manual motor blocks may be a useful tool for future development of therapeutic regimens for this debilitating aspect of motor dysfunction in PD.     

Sleep disorders in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease: validation study of a Chinese version of Parkinson's disease sleep scale

To evaluate the Chinese version of the Parkinson's disease sleep scale (PDSS) as an instrument for measuring sleep disorders in Chinese patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The objective of the present study was to carry out a metric analysis of a Chinese version of PDSS using a cross-sectional study of 126 patients with PD who participated in the study. Usual measures for PD patients including the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were applied by neurologists. The intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.880, and test-retest reliability for total PDSS score was 0.914. The Mean total PDSS score was 118.38+/-26.07. There was a significant correlation between the PDSS and PSQI, between the PDSS and ESS, between the PDSS and GDS, between the PDSS and HAMA, between the PDSS and the disease durations, and between the PDSS and the LDE, respectively. The Chinese version of PDSS met some basic standards required for sleep disorders measures. It could lead to better understanding the sleep disorders of PD of China in future studies.     

Short-term effect of amantadine sulphate on motor performance and reaction time in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease

Summary. In thirty patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) we examined in a prospectively designed study the effect on motor performance and cognitive functions of amantadine sulphate, applied intravenously over a period of 14 days. Prior to the introduction of amantadine and post infusionem the motor function was measured by the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and the Motor Performance Test Series (MPS); the simple and the choice reaction time were assessed using the Vienna Reaction Unit (VRU). The primary endpoint of efficacy was the change in the UPDRS part III (motor examination) after 14 days of amantadine sulphate administration compared with baseline. Secondary endpoints were changes in the variables of the MPS and VRU at the end of administration interval compared with baseline. Overall, after 14 days of intravenous amantadine administration (200 mg/day), a significant improvement was obtained in motor performance with respect to the semiquantitative motor scores of the UPDRS (p = 0.002) and the quantitative motor variables in the pertinent subtests of the MPS, reflecting precision and speed of arm-hand movement as well as manual and finger dexterity, for the right (p < 0.01) and the left hand (p < 0.05). However, all patients being viewed collectively, it was observed that there was a widely differing time delay of efficient motor response to amantadine from 4 to 9 days between individuals, whilst the quality of motor response remained stable for the follow-up period. Although simple reaction time showed no significant improvement, choice reaction time shortened significantly in less affected PD patients staging Hoehn and Yahr I to III (p < 0.05). We conclude that apart from efficacy on motor performance, amantadine sulphate – applied intravenously – has a positive effect on cognitive functions, particularly in less affected PD patients. Received October 10, 1998; accepted February 4, 1999     

帕金森病患者的抑郁与认知功能障碍

目的探讨帕金森病(PD)患者的抑郁与认知功能障碍之间的关系。方法对60名PD患者和38名对照组进行抑郁和认知功能评定。结果PD组HAMD均分(16.8±0.6),对照组(7.2±2.8);PD组的认知功能与对照组相比下降;PD并抑郁患者的认知功能与PD并非抑郁患者的认知功能相比有显著性差异(P<0.05)。结论PD患者存在抑郁与认知功能障碍,抑郁可能是导致认知功能下降的重要因素。     

Central motor conduction in cerebrovascular disease and motor neuron disease

Conduction in the central motor pathways was studied in 9 patients with cerebrovascular disease (CVD), 13 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 3 with spinal progressive muscular atrophy (SPMA). Motor responses evoked in the limb by cortical, cervical and lumbar stimulations were recorded. The central conduction time (CCT) was calculated for each muscle. In patients with CVD, responses to cortical stimulation were unobtainable or delayed in the paretic limb muscles. In patients with ALS the abnormality of central motor conduction had significant correlation with the extensor plantar response. The CCTs were normal in patients with SPMA. This technique demonstrated a subclinical lesion in some patients. We conclude that the new technique of examining motor conduction along the corticospinal tract may be useful to detect a subclinical lesion in the corticospinal tract.     

Distinct hippocampal subfield atrophy in Parkinson's disease regarding motor subtypes

IntroductionGlobal hippocampal atrophy has been repeatedly reported in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is limited literature on the differential involvement of hippocampal subfields among PD motor subtypes. This study aimed to investigate hippocampal subfield alterations in patients with PD based on their predominant symptoms.MethodWe enrolled 31 PD patients with the tremor-dominant (TD) subtype, 27 PD patients with postural instability and gait disturbance-dominant (PIGD) subtype, and 40 healthy controls (HCs). All participants underwent high-spatial-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The volume of hippocampal subfields was measured using FreeSurfer software, compared across groups, and correlated with clinical features.ResultsWe found volumetric reductions in the hippocampal subfield in both patient subtypes compared to HCs, which were more pronounced in the PIGD subtype. The PIGD subtype had accelerated age-related alterations in the hippocampus compared to the TD subtype. Bilateral hippocampal volumes were positively associated with cognitive performance levels, but not with disease severity and duration in patients.ConclusionsAlterations in the hippocampal subfields of patients with PD differed based on their predominant symptoms. These findings are of relevance for understanding the pathophysiology of the increased risk of cognitive impairment in PIGD.     

Role of working memory components in planning performance of individuals with Parkinson's disease

The current study investigated the involvement of all four components of Baddeley's [Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4, 417-423] revised working memory model in deficits of planning accompanying Parkinson's disease (PD). PD resulted in poorer formulation and execution of plans, as measured by the Tower of London task. PD also reduced the efficiency of the episodic buffer and central executive components of working memory, but did not influence storage of verbal or visuospatial information. Planning deficits in PD were particularly linked to problems in integrating multimodal short-term information with long-term memory (episodic buffer). These results emphasize the importance of integrative and executive processing in cognitive problems in PD, rather than simple memory deficits.     

Voice abnormalities and their relation with motor dysfunction in Parkinson's disease

Objective – To evaluate changes in perceptual and several acoustic parameters of voice in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and to find out any relation with these parameters and motor components of Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) in this patient group. Materials and methods – Twenty patients with PD (12 male and 8 female) were given objective and subjective voice tests and results were compared with those of 20 age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Patient's perceptual voice analysis was assessed using GRBAS scale including Grade of Dysphonia, Roughness, Breathiness, Asthenia and Strain items. Measurements for objective voice analysis, acoustic assessment tests including frequency perturbation [jitter (jitt)%], intensity perturbation [shimmer (shim)%], noise to harmonic ratio (NHR), fundamental frequency (F0), variability of fundamental frequency (vF0), diadochokinetic rate (DDK) and maximum phonation time (MPT) were used. An assessment of disability caused by voice disorders was scored according to the Voice Handicap Index (VHI) by the patient. All subjects also underwent videolaryngostroboscopic (VLS) examination. Motor components of UPDRS and acoustic parameters of voice were investigated for any correlations. Results – Compared with controls, roughness (P = 0.15), breathiness (P = 0.004) and asthenia (P = 0.031) values of males and breathiness (P = 0.043) and asthenia (P = 0.023) values of females were higher in patients with PD. Mean VHI scores of patients with PD were higher for both male and female patients (P = 0.0001 for male, P = 0.002 for female). The mean values for MPT (P = 0.02) and DDK (P = 0.025) were shorter in patients with PD. Jitt%, shim% and mean F0 values were similar among the two groups. But mean vF0 values were significantly higher in male patients with PD (P = 0.05). On VLS examination, non‐closure glottic pattern was found to be more frequent in the PD group. Conclusion – Although it is well known that pathophysiological changes in PD affect the voice, the present study found only few significant correlations between motor component of UPDRS and voice parameters.     

Behavioral persistence deficit in Parkinson's disease patients

The present study was performed to examine the degree to which decreased task persistence may contribute to deficits in the ability of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients to perform a problem solving task. Patients with mild/moderate PD performed a computerized Tower of Hanoi task in which they planned and verbalized moves to solve the puzzle but did not need to produce a limb motor response. All patients were tested at least 14 h off medication. As expected from previous studies of planning abilities in PD, patients had significant problems performing this task and accuracy decreased specifically when patients were presented with the most difficult puzzles in the sequence. PD patients solved fewer of the most difficult puzzles than did control subjects, but also made significantly fewer attempts to solve those puzzles than controls. These results suggest that PD patients not only have planning and problem solving deficits as have been documented previously, but that at least part of this and perhaps other cognitive performance problems may result from difficulty in maintaining adequate mental effort to successfully complete difficult tasks.     

帕金森病运动症状进展分析

目的分析帕金森病(PD)患者运动症状进展特点。方法采用PD统一评分量表(UPDRS)Ⅲ对912例PD患者进行评估。结果与病程1年的患者比较,除病程1~2年的患者外,其他病程患者的UPDRSⅢ评分、强直分、姿势或步态异常分、轴性症状总分、言语分、步态分显著升高(均P0.05),病程5~6年及14年患者的震颤分,病程5~6年、7~8年、9~13年、14年患者的运动迟缓分、姿势分显著升高(P0.05~0.01)。轴性症状进展速度高于UPDRSⅢ评分。结论 PD患者病程早期UPDRSⅢ评分进展快,震颤症状进展独立于其他症状,轴性症状评分较UPDRSⅢ更敏感地反映疾病加重趋势。     

Prognostic implications of the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease with respect to clinical,computertomographic and psychometric parameters

Summary Forty-four Parkinson patients (19 patients of the rigid-akinetic type, 13, of the rigid-akinetic-tremor type, and 12, of the tremor type) were included in a study in order to analyse correlations of the expression of the motor symptoms tremor, rigidity, akinesia, with other clinical parameters, computertomographic aspect of brain atrophy and psychometrically assessed cognitive parameters. Rigidity and akinesia are significantly positively correlated with the severity of motor dysability, stage of the disease, and brain atrophy, as is akinesia with a history of pharmacotoxic psychosis. Tremor is significantly negatively correlated with motor dysability, stage of the disease, and history of pharmacotoxic psychosis. Akinesia is correlated with visuomotor dysfunction (tested with Bender Gestalt Test) and rigidity with the depression score (Zung scale). The tremor type is favorable, the rigid-akinetic type unfavorable with respect to motor disability and psychosis.     

Global Mobility Task: index for evaluating motor impairment and motor rehabilitation programs in Parkinson's disease patients

OBJECTIVE: In this study, the validity of a motor task, i.e., the Global Mobility Task (GMT), was assessed in a group of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight PD patients (mean age: 68.7 years) and 18 healthy subjects (mean age: 65.8 years) were enrolled in the study. The GMT measures the ability of an adult to roll over on the floor and stand up in five steps using two parameters: 'Time' and 'Score', i.e., the time needed and the ability to perform each step of the task. As the GMT has never been evaluated before, internal consistency and concurrent and discriminative validity were considered in assessing its characteristics in a group of PD patients at the beginning and at the end of a motor rehabilitation program. To determine whether the GMT could also quantify the extrapyramidal impairment, we compared data collected using this task with data obtained using clinical scales such as the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale III (UPDRS part III) and Hoehn & Yahr's score. RESULTS: Results showed that the GMT had good consistency and inter-rater reproducibility, was closely related to clinical scales and was able to detect the amelioration of extrapyramidal symptoms at the end of the motor rehabilitation program. CONCLUSION: we propose the GMT as a tool for measuring impaired mobility in PD patients and for evaluating the objective effects of motor rehabilitation programs.     

Cerebral activity modulation by extradural motor cortex stimulation in Parkinson's disease: a perfusion SPECT study

Extradural motor cortex stimulation (EMCS) has been proposed as alternative to deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Its mechanisms of action are still unclear. Neuroimaging evidenced motor cortical dysfunction in PD that can be reversed by therapy. We performed left hemisphere EMCS surgery in six advanced PD patients fulfilling CAPSIT criteria for DBS with the exception of age >70 years. After 6 months, we measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) at rest with SPECT and Tc-99m cysteinate dimer bicisate off-medication with stimulator off and on. Clinical assessment included Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale part II and III, Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale and mean dopaminergic medication dosage. We used statistical parametric mapping for imaging data analysis. Clinically we observed no mean changes in motor scales, although blinded evaluation revealed some benefit in individual patients. We found significant rCBF decrements in the pre-central gyrus, pre-motor cortex and caudate nucleus bilaterally, left prefrontal areas and right thalamus. Perfusion increments were found in cerebellum bilaterally. EMCS determined significant modulation of neuronal activity within the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical motor loop in our cohort of advanced PD patients. However, these effects were paralleled by mild and variable clinical efficacy.     

Cognitive impairment in motor neuron disease

A systematic investigation of the cognitive functions of 22 patients affected with motor neuron disease (MND) compared to 36 controls matched for age and education was performed. The MND group showed cognitive performances slightly but significantly lower than the control group; 6 MND patients, however, had decidedly pathological values. Cognitive impairment was stereotyped and global, with sparing of memory. There was no significant difference between patients with isolated involvement of the lower motor neuron and those with associated pyramidal involvement. Our neuropsychological findings are in agreement with previous clinical, neuroradiological and pathological reports indicating extra-motor cerebral involvement in MND.     

Mobility and balance in Parkinson's disease: a population-based study

Background and purpose:  To assess the clinical correlates of mobility and balance, and to identify the risk factors for falls in Parkinson's disease (PD).
Methods:  One-hundred and nineteen PD patients underwent clinical examination and tests for mobility and balance using the Timed Up & Go (TUG) test, walking speed, and the measurement of postural sway.
Results:  The fallers (35% of the subjects) performed significantly worse in the TUG test than the non-fallers, and they also had a slower walking speed ( P  =   0.037 and P  =   0.006, respectively). The total Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) score and age were positively associated with the TUG-test score. The severity of the disease and the use of walking aids correlated negatively with the walking speed, whereas the use of dopamine agonists was positively associated with the walking speed. The UPDRS total score [odds ratio (OR) 1.04, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.01–1.07] and increased postural sway (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.02–1.54) were independent risk factors for falling in PD.
Conclusion:  Advanced age and severity of the disease are related to impaired mobility and balance in PD patients. The severity of the disease and increased postural sway seem to be the most important independent risk factors for falling in PD.