Analysis of parallel and transverse visual cues on the gait of individuals with idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) has been defined as a chronic progressive neurological disorder with characteristics that generate changes in gait pattern. Several studies have reported that appropriate external influences, such as visual or auditory cues may improve the gait pattern of patients with IPD. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use three-dimensional (3D) analysis to evaluate the effects of parallel (PVC) and transverse visual spatial cues (TVCs) on gait variables (spatiotemporal and kinematic) of individuals with IPD.

Gait analysis comparing Parkinson's disease with healthy elderly subjects.

Unlabelled: There is a lack of studies comparing the kinematics data of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) patients with healthy elder (HE) subjects, and when there is such research, it is not correlated to clinical measures.

Objective: To compare the spatio-temporal and kinematic parameters of Parkinsonian gait with the HE subjects group and measure the relation between these parameters and clinical instruments.

Method: Twelve patients with IPD and fifteen HE subjects were recruited and evaluated for clinical instruments and gait analysis.

Psychopathological features in patients with Parkinson's disease and related caregivers' burden.

Background: Along with classical motor disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD), psychopathological features frequently co-occur, which may increase the caregiver's burden.

Aims: To identify the profile of psychopathological symptoms in patients with PD and the impact imposed by this condition on the caregiver's burden.

Subjects: Fifty patients with idiopathic PD seen consecutively at the Movement Disorder Outpatient Clinic at the Hospital of State University of Campinas, Brazil, and their 50 respective caregivers were studied.

Depression in patients with Parkinson's disease: impact on functioning.

Depression is a frequently observed neuropsychiatric phenomenon in Parkinson's disease (PD) and it has been lately considered as a manifestation of such disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between depression and clinical aspects of PD and to assess the impact of the co-occurrence of such condition on the burden imposed by PD. Fifty outpatients diagnosed with idiopathic PD according to the London Brain Bank criteria were examined.