Publications by authors named "Alex Medina Escobar"
Background: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease following Alzheimer's disease. Nearly 30 causative genes have been identified for PD and related disorders. However, most of these genes were identified in European-derived families, and little is known about their role in Latin American populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- A study conducted on Huntington's disease (HD) in Latin America found that previous global reviews have overlooked significant regional data, prompting a search across Spanish, Portuguese, and English databases to gather relevant studies.
- The research identified 24 studies from 12 of the 36 Latin American countries, revealing a pooled prevalence of HD at 0.64 per 100,000 people, with higher rates specifically in Mexico, Peru, and Brazil.
- The authors suggest that the actual prevalence of HD may be underestimated due to limited research, underdiagnosis, and insufficient access to molecular testing and specialists in the region, emphasizing the need for further studies to enhance understanding and access to care.
Background: Recently, we identified barriers and facilitators to the screening and treatment of depressive and anxiety symptoms in adult-onset isolated dystonia (AOID). These symptoms are common, functionally impairing, and often underdetected and undertreated.
Objectives: To develop a care pathway for mood symptoms in AOID.
Background And Purpose: Clinically relevant anxiety and anxiety disorders are commonly associated with adult-onset isolated dystonia, contributing substantially to quality-of-life impairment in patients with this movement disorder. However, the prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders in adult-onset isolated dystonia remains unclear. We aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence of anxiety symptoms/disorders in adult-onset isolated dystonia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdult onset idiopathic dystonia (AOID) is the third most common movement disorder in adults. Co-existing depressive symptoms and disorders represent major contributors of disability and quality of life in these patients, but their prevalence remains unclear. We investigated the point prevalence of supra-clinical threshold depressive symptoms/depressive disorders in AOID in a systematic review with qualitative synthesis and meta-analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine the utility of an electronic diary for registering motor fluctuations and dyskinesia in Parkinson disease (PD).
Methods: Free, open-access touch screen software suitable for Android 4.4 or higher, with medication alarms, adjustable intervals, and medication dose settings was developed to evaluate ON-OFF periods and dyskinesia.
Weight lossisa multifactorial disorder commonly affecting Parkinson's disease patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between body weight, nutritional status, physical activity, and Parkinson's disease-related factors. A total of 114 consecutive Parkinson's disease patients without dietary restrictions were evaluated prospectively with respect to: nutritional status (Mini Nutritional Assessment), physical activity level (Yale Physical Activity Survey), MDS-UPDRS score, olfactory function, depression, cognitive functionand impulse-control disorders, among other variables.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Normosmic Parkinson's disease (PD) might be a unique clinical phenotype with a more benign course when compared with hyposmic PD.
Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate motor features and the acute levodopa response according to olfactory function.
Methods: A total of 169 de novo PD patients that underwent olfactory testing and acute levodopa challenge for clinical prediction of sustained long-term dopaminergic response were evaluated.