Digital Health Technology Use Across Socioeconomic Groups Prior to and During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Panel Study.

Background: Digital technologies have become more important in the health care sector in the past decades. This transition from conventional to digital health care has been accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which poses the risk of creating a "digital divide," inadvertently placing those who are older, economically disadvantaged, and have a lower level of education at a disadvantage.

Objective: This study focuses on the influence of socioeconomic factors on the adoption of digital health technology in the Frisian population and how this relation is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Predicting Motor Outcome and Quality of Life After Subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's Disease: The Role of Standard Screening Measures and Wearable-Data.

Background: Standardized screening for subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients is crucial to determine eligibility, but its utility to predict postoperative outcomes in eligible patients is inconclusive. It is unknown whether wearable data can contribute to this aim.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of universal components incorporated in the DBS screening, complemented by a wearable sensor, to predict motor outcomes and Quality of life (QoL) one year after STN DBS surgery.

Medical and Surgical Treatment for Medication-Induced Tremor: Case Report and Systematic Review.

Objective: To present a case of refractory medication-induced tremor successfully treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (Vim) and to propose a medical and surgical treatment algorithm based on a systematical review of the literature.

Methods: Patient data were retrospectively collected. A systematic search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library.

Investigation of Autosomal Genetic Sex Differences in Parkinson's Disease.

Objective: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex neurodegenerative disorder. Men are on average ~ 1.5 times more likely to develop PD compared to women with European ancestry.

Parkinson's Disease Subtypes: Critical Appraisal and Recommendations.

Background: In Parkinson's disease (PD), there is heterogeneity in the clinical presentation and underlying biology. Research on PD subtypes aims to understand this heterogeneity with potential contribution for the knowledge of disease pathophysiology, natural history and therapeutic development. There have been many studies of PD subtypes but their impact remains unclear with limited application in research or clinical practice.

Assessing walking adaptability in stroke patients.

The ability to adapt walking is important for safe ambulation. Assessments of impairments in walking adaptability with the Interactive Walkway may aid in the development of individualized therapy strategies of stroke patients. The Interactive Walkway is an overground walkway with Kinect v2 sensors for a markerless registration of full-body kinematics, which can be augmented with (gait-dependent) visual context to assess walking adaptability.

What predicts quality of life after subthalamic deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease? A systematic review.

Background And Purpose: Subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN DBS) is an effective therapy against medication-refractory motor complications in patients with Parkinson's disease. However, it remains difficult to predict which baseline patient characteristics are associated with quality of life (QoL) after surgery. The objective was to identify preoperative factors associated with QoL after STN DBS by systematically reviewing publications of sufficient methodological quality.

Genetic modifiers of risk and age at onset in GBA associated Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Parkinson's disease is a genetically complex disorder. Multiple genes have been shown to contribute to the risk of Parkinson's disease, and currently 90 independent risk variants have been identified by genome-wide association studies. Thus far, a number of genes (including SNCA, LRRK2, and GBA) have been shown to contain variability across a spectrum of frequency and effect, from rare, highly penetrant variants to common risk alleles with small effect sizes.

Stimulation challenge test after STN DBS improves satisfaction in Parkinson's disease patients.

Objective: Although subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation (STN DBS) is proven effective in improving symptoms of Parkinson's Disease (PD), previous literature demonstrates a discrepancy between objective improvement and patients' perception thereof. We aimed to examine whether postoperative stimulation challenge tests (SCT) alters patients' satisfaction after STN DBS for PD.

Methods: Fifty-four PD patients underwent preoperative levodopa challenge tests and were routinely invited for SCT 1-2 years postoperatively.

Regional Structural Hippocampal Differences Between Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are considered subtypes of the α-synucleinopathy continuum that show similar and dissimilar clinical and morphological features.

Objective: To further our understanding of brain abnormalities that might differentiate both disorders more clearly, we performed quantitative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the subcortical and cortical grey matter.

Methods: Three-dimensional T1 weighted 3 tesla MR images of 14 DLB and 62 age- and gender-matched PD patients were examined to study cortical and subcortical grey matter structure.

Selecting candidates for Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's disease: the role of patients' expectations.

Patients with advanced Parkinson's Disease (PD) may be eligible for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in case of medication-related motor fluctuations or tremor refractory to oral medication. However, several PD symptoms are unresponsive to DBS and constitute relative contra-indications for DBS. Patients referred for DBS undergo an eligibility screening during which motor functioning and contra-indications for surgery are assessed.

Age- and disease-related cerebral white matter changes in patients with Parkinson's disease.

As age and Parkinson's disease (PD) both play a role in the degeneration of brain white matter, we aimed to investigate a possible interaction effect of age and disease presence on white matter integrity in patients with PD. We studied white matter hyperintensity volume, global fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity and mean magnetization transfer ratio of normal appearing white matter in 163 patients with PD and 218 age- and gender-matched healthy control subjects. We investigated the relationship between age and these parameters in both groups, and interaction between age and disease presence.

Peripheral mitochondrial function correlates with clinical severity in idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

Background: Parkinson's disease is an intractable disorder with heterogeneous clinical presentation that may reflect different underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Surrogate indicators of pathogenic processes correlating with clinical measures may assist in better patient stratification. Mitochondrial function, which is impaired in and central to PD pathogenesis, may represent one such surrogate indicator.

Intraoperative test stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus aids postoperative programming of chronic stimulation settings in Parkinson's disease.

Background: It is unknown whether intraoperative testing during awake Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) can be used to postoperatively identify the best settings for chronic stimulation.

Objective: To determine whether intraoperative test stimulation is indicative of postoperative stimulation results.

Methods: Records of consecutive Parkinson's Disease patients who received STN DBS between September 2012 and December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed.

Parkinson's disease age at onset genome-wide association study: Defining heritability, genetic loci, and α-synuclein mechanisms.

Background: Increasing evidence supports an extensive and complex genetic contribution to PD. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shed light on the genetic basis of risk for this disease. However, the genetic determinants of PD age at onset are largely unknown.

Walking adaptability for targeted fall-risk assessments.

Background: Most falls occur during walking and are due to trips, slips or misplaced steps, which suggests a reduced walking adaptability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential merit of a walking-adaptability assessment for identifying prospective fallers and risk factors for future falls in a cohort of stroke patients, Parkinson's disease patients, and controls (n = 30 for each group).

Research Question: Does an assessment of walking-adaptability improve the identification of fallers compared to generic fall-risk factors alone?

Methods: This study comprised an evaluation of subject characteristics, clinical gait and balance tests, a quantitative gait assessment and a walking-adaptability assessment with the Interactive Walkway.

Sex matters in complex regional pain syndrome.

Background: Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is much more prevalent in women than men but potential differences in clinical phenotype have not been thoroughly explored to date. Differences in the clinical presentation between sexes may point at new avenues for a more tailored management approach of CRPS. We therefore explored if in CRPS, the patient's sex is associated with differences in clinical and psychological characteristics.

The Cervical Radiculopathy Impact Scale: development and evaluation of a new functional outcome measure for cervical radicular syndrome.

To develop and validate an outcome scale for the cervical radicular syndrome and to build a mapping, predicting EQ-5D utility from the new scale. An item pool was developed based on literature and patient and clinician interviews. Item selection was based on symptomatology, factor analysis, and internal consistency.

Assessing Walking Adaptability in Parkinson's Disease: "The Interactive Walkway".

In people with Parkinson's disease (PD) many aspects of walking ability deteriorate with advancing disease. Clinical tests typically evaluate single aspects of walking and to a lesser extent assess more complex walking tasks involving a combination of the three key aspects of walking ability (i.e.

Assessment Scales for Patients with Advanced Huntington's Disease: Comparison of the UHDRS and UHDRS-FAP.

Background: The standard clinical assessment tool in Huntington's disease is the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS). In patients with advanced Huntington's disease ceiling and floor effects of the UHDRS hamper the detection of changes. Therefore, the UHDRS-For Advanced Patients (UHDRS-FAP) has been designed for patients with late-stage Huntington's disease.

Optical Hand Tracking: A Novel Technique for the Assessment of Bradykinesia in Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Evaluation of therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD) may benefit from objective quantification of the separate movement components of bradykinesia (i.e., velocity, amplitude, and rhythm).

Interrater Reliability of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale-Total Motor Score Certification.

Background: The clinical assessment of motor symptoms in Huntington's disease is usually performed with the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale-Total Motor Score (UHDRS-TMS). A high interrater reliability is desirable to monitor symptom progression. Therefore, a teaching video and a system for annual online certification has been developed and implemented.

Clinical correlates of quantitative EEG in Parkinson disease: A systematic review.

Objective: To assess the relevance of quantitative EEG (qEEG) measures as outcomes of disease severity and progression in Parkinson disease (PD).

Methods: Main databases were systematically searched (January 2018) for studies of sufficient methodologic quality that examined correlations between clinical symptoms of idiopathic PD and cortical (surface) qEEG metrics.

Results: Thirty-six out of 605 identified studied were included.

Cognitive-motor interference during goal-directed upper-limb movements.

Research and clinical practice have focused on effects of a cognitive dual-task on highly automated motor tasks such as walking or maintaining balance. Despite potential importance for daily life performance, there are only a few small studies on dual-task effects on upper-limb motor control. We therefore developed a protocol for assessing cognitive-motor interference (CMI) during upper-limb motor control and used it to evaluate dual-task effects in 57 healthy individuals and two highly prevalent neurological disorders associated with deficits of cognitive and motor processing (57 patients with Parkinson's disease [PD], 57 stroke patients).