Assessment of social isolation and changes in Parkinson's disease symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study.

Background: COVID-19-related social restrictions provided an opportunity to evaluate the impact of social isolation on Parkinson's disease.

Objective: This study aimed to explore changes in social isolation and their associations with PD symptoms using the Lubben Social Network Scale-Revised (LSNS-R).

Methods: Data from 80 participants of the Early Parkinson's Disease Longitudinal Singapore cohort were collected from April 2019 to April 2023, covering the periods before and after the imposition of COVID-19 restrictions.

Plasma Neurofilament Light Concentration Is Associated with Diffusion-Tensor MRI-Based Measures of Neurodegeneration in Early Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Neurofilament light is a marker of axonal degeneration, whose measurement from peripheral blood was recently made possible by new assays.

Objective: We aimed to determine whether plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) concentration reflects brain white matter integrity in patients with early Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: 137 early PD patients and 51 healthy controls were included.

Longitudinal Study of SNCA Rep1 Polymorphism on Executive Function in Early Parkinson's Disease.

The alpha-synuclein gene promoter (SNCA-Rep1) is associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), but its relationship with performance across individual cognitive domains in early PD is unknown. This study aims to investigate Rep1 polymorphism and longitudinal change in cognition in early PD. In this longitudinal study, Rep1 allele lengths ("long" and "short") were determined in 204 early PD patients.

Detection of Freezing of Gait Using Convolutional Neural Networks and Data From Lower Limb Motion Sensors.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic, non-reversible neurodegenerative disorder, and freezing of gait (FOG) is one of the most disabling symptoms in PD as it is often the leading cause of falls and injuries that drastically reduces patients' quality of life. In order to monitor continuously and objectively PD patients who suffer from FOG and enable the possibility of on-demand cueing assistance, a sensor-based FOG detection solution can help clinicians manage the disease and help patients overcome freezing episodes. Many recent studies have leveraged deep learning models to detect FOG using signals extracted from inertial measurement unit (IMU) devices.

Stability of MDS-UPDRS Motor Subtypes Over Three Years in Early Parkinson's Disease.

Various classifications have been proposed to subtype Parkinson's disease (PD) based on their motor phenotypes. However, the stability of these subtypes has not been properly evaluated. The goal of this study was to understand the distribution of PD motor subtypes, their stability over time, and baseline factors that predicted subtype stability.

Convolutional Neural Network for Freezing of Gait Detection Leveraging the Continuous Wavelet Transform on Lower Extremities Wearable Sensors Data.

Freezing of Gait is the most disabling gait disturbance in Parkinson's disease. For the past decade, there has been a growing interest in applying machine learning and deep learning models to wearable sensor data to detect Freezing of Gait episodes. In our study, we recruited sixty-seven Parkinson's disease patients who have been suffering from Freezing of Gait, and conducted two clinical assessments while the patients wore two wireless Inertial Measurement Units on their ankles.

Utility of plasma Neurofilament light as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of the postural instability gait disorder motor subtype in early Parkinson's disease.

Background: The main motor subtypes of Parkinson's disease (PD) include tremor-dominant (TD) and postural instability gait disorder (PIGD), with varying disease course that warrant the development of biomarkers capable of predicting progression according to motor subtype. The PIGD subtype is associated with a poorer prognosis, hence identification of a biomarker associated with PIGD is clinically relevant. Neurofilament light (NfL) chain is a potential biomarker of disease severity in neurological disorders including PD.

Attitude of Asian Parkinson Patients towards Clinical Research and Tissue Donation.

Objective: The success of clinical research and tissue donation programs are highly dependent on recruitment of willing volunteers. A comprehensive survey of patient preferences and attitudes can help identify and address barriers hindering the recruitment for research.

Method: This is a cross-sectional study on 105 Parkinson's disease patients who completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire.

Patient attitudes towards brain donation across both neurodegenerative and non-neurodegenerative neurological disorders.

Brain donations are imperative for research; understanding possible barriers to entry is required to improve brain donation rates. While a few surveys have studied attitudes towards brain banking in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, none have surveyed patients with chronic neurological disorders but without neurodegeneration. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 187 participants, with both neurodegenerative (n = 122) and non-neurodegenerative disorders (n = 65), to compare their attitudes and preferences towards brain donation.

Attitudes of Asian Parkinson patients towards brain donation.

Histopathological examination of brain tissue is required for better understanding of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease and related disorders. However, patient willingness remains the greatest hurdle hampering participation in brain donation for research. While there is extensive research being conducted on the subject in West, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies done in this regard in Asia.

SNCA Rep1 promoter variability influences cognition in Parkinson's disease.

Background: While the association between alpha-synuclein gene promoter (Rep1) variability and risk of PD is well established, its association with cognition is unclear.

Objectives: To investigate the association between Rep1 and motor and cognitive outcomes in PD.

Methods: Rep1 allele lengths were determined in 172 PD patients who were grouped into "long" and "short" carriers according to previous methods.

A Wearable, Patient-Adaptive Freezing of Gait Detection System for Biofeedback Cueing in Parkinson's Disease.

Freezing of Gait (FoG) is a common motor-related impairment among Parkinson's disease patients, which substantially reduces their quality of life and puts them at risk of falls. These patients benefit from wearable FoG detection systems that provide timely biofeedback cues and hence help them regain control over their gait. Unfortunately, the systems proposed thus far are bulky and obtrusive when worn.

Plasma alpha-synuclein detected by single molecule array is increased in PD.

We utilized ultrasensitive single molecule technology to measure plasma alpha-synuclein in 221 subjects (51 controls, 170 PD). Plasma alpha-synuclein levels were significantly higher in PD than controls (15506.3 vs.