Complementary Therapies in Parkinson Disease: a Review of Acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, and Cannabis.

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by bradykinesia, rigidity, resting tremor, and postural instability. Non-motor symptoms, including pain, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, and depression to name a few, are increasingly recognized and often just as disabling at motor symptoms. The mainstay of treatment is dopamine replacement; however, the beneficial effects tend to wane over time with disease progression, and patients often experience motor fluctuations and medication side effects.

A case of paraneoplastic neuromyelitis optica associated with small cell lung carcinoma.

Neuromyelitis optic spectrum disorders are demyelinating conditions that are typically idiopathic, though various case reports have demonstrated an association with malignancy. We present the case of a 64year old woman with NMOSD in the setting of small cell lung cancer. She had longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis and left eye optic neuritis; aquaporin-4 antibodies were elevated.

A U.S. survey of patients with Parkinson's disease: satisfaction with medical care and support groups.

Relatively little is known about patient satisfaction with Parkinson's disease (PD) care and the use of support groups in the United States. We surveyed members of the Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Disease Registry to assess satisfaction with medical care and to evaluate support group use. Satisfaction was measured on a 5-point Likert scale, with high satisfaction defined as a four or five.

Increasing access to specialty care: a pilot, randomized controlled trial of telemedicine for Parkinson's disease.

We conducted a randomized, controlled pilot trial to evaluate the feasibility of providing subspecialty care via telemedicine for patients with Parkinson's disease residing in a remote community located approximately 130 miles from an academic movement disorders clinic. Study participants were randomized to receive telemedicine care with a movement disorder specialist at the University of Rochester or to receive their usual care. Participants in the telemedicine group received three telemedicine visits over six months.

Local institutional review board (IRB) review of a multicenter trial: local costs without local context.

Multicenter clinical research involves parallel Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews based on the premise that local review reflects aspects of the research environment. We examined the costs and effects of local IRB review of the consent and protocol in a multicenter clinical trial in Parkinson disease. Seventy-six percent of changes to the consent reflected standard institutional language, with no substantive changes to the protocol.

A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of latrepirdine in Huntington disease.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and tolerability of latrepirdine in Huntington disease (HD) and explore its effects on cognition, behavior, and motor symptoms.

Design: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: Multicenter outpatient trial.

Telemedicine for the care of nursing home residents with Parkinson's disease.

Individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) often require nursing home care, where access to neurologists is limited. Telemedicine uses information and communication technologies to provide health care to individuals who are geographically separate from providers. We present a video report of a nursing home resident with PD who received telemedicine visits over 8 months from a movement disorders specialist.

Communicating clinical trial results to research participants.

Background: Communicating clinical trial results to research participants is seldom accomplished in a timely or an effective manner.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a plan to communicate results in an industry-sponsored randomized controlled trial for Huntington disease.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Postal survey to research participants at 28 of 41 research sites (including 217 of 316 participants) in Canada and the United States.